Commander in Chief
by Steph Malfoy
Summary: AU! full summary inside, please R&R! AmyTy. Now dedicated to HorseLover20693 for being the first person to figure out the WHOLE plot! [Complete]
1. Prologue type thing

Hello! This is going to be my first Heartland fic… if anyone wants me to write it. Okay so I've had this idea for a Heartland story in my head for about a week and it's killing me! I can't even update my other story! So I have decided to give you readers a summary and a character over view thingy of Amy and Ty. Oh yes and this is way **AU**!

This story is based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brook!

**Amy**: (16) Was born in VA but moved to England when she was 5 so she only has a little accent. She lives with her mom, Marion, and dad, Tim, they are two well known show jumpers. She also has an older sister, Lou who lives in VA with her husband Scott. She also has a little brother named Alex, 8. Her parents are pretty wealthy and have a rehabilitation horse farm in England. Her parents decide to move to VA. They buy a large farm and start a branch of their farm, Heartland, in the US. Amy attends Green Acres Prep and is a junior. Amy competes in show jumping on her horse (a/n: no name as of yet) and was champion in England. Her best friends are Soroya and Matt who she has met when visiting her grandpa in VA.

**Ty: **(17) Lives in VA with his mom, dad and little brother Lee (14). Ty's family is **VERY** wealthy and owns a very large racing/competition/breeding horse farm called, Baldwin Ways. They have had their horses win the Triple Crown like 5 times and had the first filly to win it. Ty competes in show jumping on his horse, Commander in Chief. Ty is very good and has won tons of big shows and the Junior Show Jumping Championships (a/n: is it a real thing? No idea). Ty is a senior at Green Acres Prep, is the star kicker on the schools football team and is 'head' of the popular crowd.

**Summary**: AU! Amy is the new girl who has just moved to VA from England. She competes regularly in show jumping and it is at a show soon after she moved that she meets the most popular guy at her new school, Ty Baldwin. Besides being popular Ty is the star kicker on the football team, a champion show jumper, wealthy and quite frankly **_HOTT_**! But he seems to take an interest in Amy and she can't figure out why someone like him would want to hang out with her, the new girl from England. But something happens to Ty's horse, Commander in Chief and he starts acting strange. Ty sends him to Amy's family's farm, Heartland, in hope of them curing him.

Okay so the summary sucked but you get the idea of what it's about! I promise it will be better when I write… does anyone think I should write it? Review and tell me what you think! I will, regardless of what happens, post at least one chapter of this story. I would appreciate it if you could review though and tell me if you would like to hear this story… it will help me find time to write this story while trying to update my other story! Oh yes and please no one copy my idea because I will get pissed off! **REVIEW! **Thanks.


	2. Meetings

**Disclaimer: **Loosely based off of characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**Note**: I just have a few things to tell you, 1) Incase you were wondering I am a girl I'm just obsessed with football and David Akers (kicker on the Philadelphia Eagles) as will become apparent in my fic 2) Thank you to all the great reviews I got! And 3) **Enjoy** and **review**!

Keep in mind that Amy and Ty's personalities are way different than in the books but this is an AU fic so what do you expect? My chapters are usually a lot longer. The next chapter should be up by Wednesday of Friday. Depends cause I still have to update my other story! **Enjoy** and **Review**!

**Chapter 1**

The show grounds were noisy. There were tons of people walking around and the shrill whinnies of some of the horses could be heard over the noise of the crowd. It was just like the shows back home in England.

I was absently stroking my horse, Sundance, who was tied to the outside of the trailer. Sundance is my competition horse, he's a magnificent jumper! We were the champions back home in England. Sundance is mostly thoroughbred but has a little quarter horse in him. His coat is the most beautiful buckskin color with a silky black mane and tail and black going up to a little past his knees. He was about 16 hands.

Sundance was eyeing his surrounding wearily and I spoke soothingly to him, "I know boy it's not like home is it?" He snorted and bobbed his head up and down in response, "We'll just have to get used to it won't we Sunny?" He snorted again and I laughed, I swear he knows what I'm saying!

I looked around the crowd and decided that my mum, dad and little brother were still signing in and would be back with my number in 5 minutes or so. I quickly put my grooming box away and got Sundance's lead rope out of the small tack room in the trailer. As I walked back to him I admired the way the sun shone off of his coat. I clipped the dark leather lead rope to Sundance's identical halter and lead him slowly away from the trailer. I walked him around the area where the trailers were parked just to keep his muscles warm.

As I walked I looked at my surroundings, there weren't many other people or horses around since it was still early or they were in the warm up ring. I saw a guy, who looked about my age, leading the most magnificent horse I'd ever seen. well one of them anyway but after my Sunny of course! He was the picture perfect bay with a small white star on his forehead, I think he was Hanoverian and was about 16.2 hands high at the least. The horse walked with amazing agility and grace for an animal its size and had a springing step. His ears were pricked forwards intelligently like show days were the days it lived for and his head held high. I watched as the bays owner led him to the water trough and laughed slightly as the horse affectionately butted his owner with his head. I heard the guy laugh and than he pushed his horses head away playfully.

When I finally reached the water trough-which had been my original destination- I was careful to keep Sunny a safe distance from the other horse since Sunny wasn't always the greatest with other horses, especially ones he didn't know. I leaned against the trough as Sunny drank and checked that guy out, out of the corner of my eye of course. I have to say I wasn't disappointed with what I was either. He was tall, about 6 ft, his skin had a natural tan, he had green eyes and dark brown hair that was cut kind of like the 'skater look' but didn't cover his eyes so much. He was so obviously athletic, he had muscular arms and legs and I would bet that under his American Eagle shirt he had some great abs, and those jeans. oh boy were they working in his favor. er lets not get off topic.

Than the guy turned to me and I saw that his eyes weren't green at all, they were more of an emerald color, "Hey," he said casually to me.

"Hi," I answered back and than turned to back to Sundance who I saw was not drinking the water but doing more of blowing it around in the trough. I just sighed because Sunny always did this but than he nosed some of the water across the trough so that it hit the bays face. The bay jerk his head up in surprise and I quickly pulled Sundance's head back up. "I'm so sorry."

I began but the guy cut me off, "No it's okay," he said and patted his horses neck, "See? No harm done."

"Still Sunny always does this, I should have known."

"It's fine, really. A little water doesn't hurt anybody," just than the bay put his nose back in the water and pushed some at Sundance who snorted in surprise when the cold water hit his nose, "Well I guess were even now anyway," the guy said while laughing. I joined in since it was pretty funny. After a few moments the guy said, "By the way, I'm Ty and this Chief."

"I'm Amy and this is Sundance," I told him and gestured to Sundance who snorted.

"Are you new here? It's just that I don't recall ever seeing you at the shows around here and." the guy. or er Ty I guess began.

"My accent?" Ty shrugged and I laughed, "Its okay and yeah my family just moved here from England," I only have a small accent since I was born in the U.S and lived here until I was 5.

"That's cool! Why'd you move?"

"Oh, my parents have a horse rehabilitation center in England and decided to expand, so here we are. We've only been here for about a week."

Just than my little brother Alex came running up, "Amy! Amy come on! Mum and dad got your number! Can I help you tack up Sunny?" he sounded excited. Alex loved show days and usually competed but his horse went lame on the trip over from England.

"Course you can, tell mum and dad I'll be right there."

"Okay!" and he ran back to our trailer.

Ty laughed as a he watched his retreating figure and said, "That your brother?"

"Yeah, I guess I should go," I said while turning Sundance around.

"Kay, maybe I'll see you later today?" he questioned.

"Maybe, well se ya," I said as I started to walk back to our trailer.

"Bye!" I heard Ty call from behind me.

**&**

"Our next competitor in the high junior jumper's class is Amy Fleming on her horse Sundance!" I heard the announcer call out as I rode into the ring. I sat tall in the saddle and grinned as the announcer continued, "Amy is the champion junior jumper all the way from England! Today she will compete against our very own champion from Virginia!" Hmm, I frowned; I wonder who that could be. The crowd applauded, I shook my head because I could hear my family yelling from the side of the ring.

When I got the judges signal I urged Sundance into a collected canter and cantered in a circle before heading towards the first fence. There were 11 jumps in the course and they were all about 4ft- 4 1/2 ft. Some of the combinations were tricky but I got around without collecting any faults and picked up a pretty good time. As I soared over the last fence the crowd erupted into applause.

"A wonderful round for Amy Fleming and Sundance, it's enough to move her into 1st place with a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. Our last competitor is our very own Virginia champion! Ty Baldwin and his horse Commander in Chief!"

As I rode out of the ring I passed by the next competitor. I swear I felt my mouth hit the saddle when I saw who it was, Ty! The same Ty I had just talked to by the water trough! Wait no not 'Ty' he was Ty _Baldwin_! I can't believe I just talked to the son of the owners of the most famous racing farm in like the whole world! And he just winked at me!

As I rode over to my family and dismounted they congratulated me, "That was a wonderful round sweetie!" my mum exclaimed and hugged me.

My dad put his arm around me, "Great job Amy! No matter what you have at least 2nd place which is great with everything that's been going on lately!" Sundance snorted and shook his head. Everyone laughed and my dad said, "You did good to Sunny."

I head the buzzer go off and quickly turned back to the ring, eager to see Ty's round. Ty used his seat to urge Commander in Chief to canter. It was amazing how perfectly he moved with the horse, you could tell just by watching them that they were the perfect team and understood and respected each other completely. I watched in awe as horse and rider soared around the course.

My rapture was broken, however, when Alex said behind me, "Hey isn't that the guy you were talking to before?"

"You were talking to a _Baldwin_?" My mum asked incredulously.

"And you didn't tell us?" My dad added jokingly.

"I didn't know who he was! He was at the water trough with his horse when I was there with Sunny and he just introduced them as Ty and Chief."

"We're just teasing you honey," my mum said smiling.

I turned back to the ring and watched Ty and Commander in Chief sail over the final fence, when they landed on the other side the crowd erupted into cheers. "That was Ty Baldwin on Commander in Chief! I believe. yes we have a new leader ladies and gentlemen!"

I looked at the score board and saw that Ty's time had indeed been faster than mine. by 300ths of a second!

"You got second!" Alex exclaimed excitedly.

"Third place in the high junior jumpers competition goes to Daniel Lawson on Burning Amber!" the crowed cheered as a guy a little older than me rode into the ring on a strawberry roan who looked more like a carriage horse, I couldn't help notice that he was scowling. "Second place goes to Amy Fleming on Sundance!" I quickly swung myself back into the saddle and rode into the ring to collect my red ribbon and halt Sundance next to Ben. I smiled at all the applause I got. "And 1st place goes to Ty Baldwin on Commander in Chief!"

I watched as Ty rode back into the ring looking calm among all the cheering. Once he received his blue ribbon and the trophy and prize check he pulled Commander in Chief up next to Sundance. He grinned at me and said, "Great round. Though I don't recall you telling me you were the champion in England!"

"And you seem to have forgotten 2 things! 1) You're a Baldwin and 2) You're the Virginia champion!" I retorted jokingly.

"And you didn't tell me you were the daughter of 2 of the most famous show jumpers in the world! So I guess we're even!"

I laughed as Ty mock grinned, he looked about to say something else when the photographer came over to take our pictures. Than the announcer came over with a microphone and spoke to Ty, "What did you think about your new competition Ty?" he said with a glance at me.

Ty looked at me and grinned, "I think she's going to give me a run for my money!" Ty exclaimed and the crowd clapped, "Because really today could have gone anyway I mean I only won by what? 300ths of a second?" The crowd laughed and applauded more. Then the announcer turned to me, "What do you think about any of this Amy?"

"I think I was beat by a great rider and a great horse and Sunny and I are going to have to work hard to beat them next time!" I smirked at Ty and the crowd laughed again.

**&**

"You were brilliant today Sunny!" I exclaimed softly to my horse as I led him over to the water trough for a much deserved drink. He bobbed his head as if agreeing with me a dropped his head in the trough and drank. I laughed as some of the water splashed up onto me and was glad I had changed out of my show outfit into a pair of jeans, a plain blue fitted t-shirt and my muck boots. I dipped the sponge I had brought with me into the cool water and squeezed it over Sunny's back rubbing at the saddle shaped sweat mark on his back. When I dipped the sponge back into the water I saw that Sundance was again blowing bubbles in the water. I just laughed and set to sponging of the sweaty girth mark.

"Didn't you ever teach your horse not to play with his food?" A teasing voice told me and I looked over Sunny's back and saw Ty leading commander in Chief over.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes at him and he laughed as Commander in Chief started to drink. As I finished sponging off Sunny I noticed that Ty had changed back into his jeans and t-shirt and was also wearing a pair of muck boots. I noticed he had a towel over his shoulder and was looking contemplatively at Commander in Chief's sweaty back, "Hmmm, hey Amy do you think I could borrow that sponge?"

"Sure if I can borrow your towel," I bargained with him.

"Okay, here catch," and he balled the towel up and threw it at me. I caught it and than threw the sponge at Ty. Just for future reference throwing sponges is not the brightest idea, especially when it's still filled with water. When Ty caught the sponge it got water all over his shirt and some on his pants, "Gee thanks!" He said sarcastically.

"You're quite welcome," I said jokingly. It's kind of weird but I feel like I've met him before and I feel totally comfortable around him even though we just met.

After a minute of silence Ty broke it, "I feel like I've met you before, you know?" Whoa spooky I was just thinking that!

"I dunno, sort of I guess. I feel comfortable around you even though I just met you," I replied hesitantly hoping that he wouldn't laugh at me.

"Same, I thought I was crazy," we both laughed and settled into a comfortable silence as we worked on cleaning off our horses.

Suddenly I felt something cold hit my back. I stood up and looked over my shoulder and saw that my back was pretty wet. I looked over at Ty who was sponging of Commander in Chief and saw his shoulders shaking slightly. He turned around and looked at me and burst out laughing, "Why did you throw water on my back?" I demanded.

"Hey you got me wet first," he responded still laughing and pointed to his shirt. He tossed my sponge back to me which immediately got the front of my shirt wet. Ty, needless to say started laughing. All I can say is thank god my shirt was blue and not white!

So while he was doubled over laughing I plunged the sponged back into the water and squeezed it out over Ty's head. He stopped laughing and looked up at me with his hair plastered to his face and water dripping down his face and neck. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew we were having a full fledge water fight! I must say some of the other people walking around were looking at us kind of funnily. By the time we stopped we were both soaking wet and laughing so hard we were gasping for breath.

Ty than proceeded to peel of his soaked shirt and boy oh boy was I right about his abs! He had some killer wash board abs! I must say I think I was kind of staring at his chest for a while but thankfully he didn't seem to notice and if he did he didn't seem to care.

All I can say is luckily Sundance and Commander in Chief were tied to the opposite side of the water trough or else we would have had some serious drying to do. When I voiced my thoughts to Ty he just nodded and said, "Chief."

"Huh?"

"You called him Commander in Chief."

"Uh yeah that's his name."

"You can just call him Chief, that's what I call him."

"Okay but if I'm calling your horse Chief you have to call mine Sunny."

"Deal, so Chief and Sunny seen to be getting along pretty good huh?"

"Yeah, Sunny doesn't normally get on that well with other horses," but against all reasoning Sunny had decided he like Chief and they were standing nose to nose occasionally throwing their heads up in the air.

"AMY!" I heard someone shout my name and turned around to see my dad gesturing for me to come back to the trailer. I turned back to Ty and said, "I guess I should get going."

"Yeah me too," he replied glancing over in the direction of where his trailer was parked, which just so happened to be almost right next to mine. We clipped our lead lines back on our horses and headed back in the direction of our trailers dripping water on the dusty ground. "Hey I forgot to ask, where are you going to school?"

"Green Acres Prep, I think," I replied slightly uncertainly since school was the farthest thing from my mind right than.

"Awesome I go their too! What grade? Junior or senior?"

"I'm a junior what are you?"

"Senior, but still my new English buddy is coming to my school," he said laughing.

I rolled my eyes and said, "English buddy?"

"Oh shut up. Well see ya in school," he said as a farewell as he got to his trailer.

"See you." By this time I reached my trailer and my mum and dad looked at me questioningly, "What happened to you?"

"Er."

"You look like you went swimming," Alex chimed in oh so helpfully.

"Actually I."

But my dad cut me off, "We know what happened we saw you guys over there and besides I was pretty hard not to hear all that laughing!"

"I'm glad you made a friend sweetie," my mum told me, "It's so much harder to make friends at your age."

"And now we can say our daughter in friends with Ty _Baldwin_!" My dad exclaimed, but not loud enough so the Baldwin's could actually hear it, god that would be embarrassing.

"Dad," I said warningly.

"I'm just joking Amy!"

"So does he go to Green Acres?" My mum questioned.

"Yeah but he's a senior," I informed her.

We chatted aimlessly as we put Sunny's travel leg wraps and cooler back on. Once Sunny was safely loaded into the trailer we all piled into the truck and slowly pulled out of the fair grounds. I smiled to myself because all in all this had been a very good day.


	3. Trail Rides and confrontations

**Author's Note: **Thank you for all the great reviews! Okay so you're probably going to hate me for this chapter for reasons that will soon be apparent. And just so you know this will defiantly be a Ty/Amy fic, though I can't write romance but I'll try D so just don't come throw rocks at my windows or anything. **Enjoy** and **Review**!

Oh and this fic isn't going to be an example of my best writing, at least not in the beginning because I don't normally write from a girls POV, my other story is in a guys POV so sorry and just bear with it if it isn't great, it will get better!

**Disclaimer: **Based very loosely off of characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**&**

**Chapter 2**

"Oh my god this is going to be the best school year ever!" My best friend Soroya exclaimed. I know I know I lived in England! But my Grandpa Jack lives in Virginia and has a dairy farm with his wife, my grandma. So whenever we would come to visit I'd meet up with Soroya and we became best friends, along with her other best friend, Matt Trewin. We became friends because my sister in married to Matt's older brother, Scott who is the veterinarian at Heartland.

Today was the first day of school and I was pretty nervous, I mean I'm a junior and it's a new school and I don't know anybody! Okay fine I know a whole of 3 people.

I was sitting in the passenger seat of Soroya's silver 2005 BMW convertible. I normally have my own car but we'd only been here for a week and we've been pretty busy so we had not yet had a chance to go pick one out. I don't see why mum and dad couldn't just ship mine over from England but a new cars just fine with me too!

Green Acres Prep did not have uniforms, thank god. I was wearing my favorite pair of jeans from Hollister that were medium colored and faded, they had a funny little stitching thing just below the right knee, it was just dark blue thread in no particular pattern. I paired it with my hazel green colored polo that had small darker hazel strips with the 2 buttons undone and a pair of tan corduroy flip-flops, both from American Eagle. I wore a little eye liner and clear lip gloss. I was also wearing one of hose white shell like necklaces that surfers wear; I got it when I went to Mexico. I left my straight, light brown hair down and it fell to a little below my shoulders. My skin was tan from working outside the past week. All in all I was pleased with my appearance.

"So are you nervous?" Soroya asked me as she pulled into the schools parking lot.

"Well yeah, I don't know anyone!"

"Well you know me and Matt and all our friends will be your friends too!" Soroya tried to reassure me.

"Yeah I guess," I said as we got out of the car. I slung my black L.L Bean messenger bag over my shoulder and walked next to Soroya up to the schools vast front lawn. We'd been here for and hour or 2 yesterday for orientation but we only got our schedules and stuff so I still didn't know anybody.

"Oh there's everybody!" Soroya exclaimed pointing to a group of about 5 people standing under 1 of the massive, leafy green trees. This place really is 'Green Acres'; there are lots of trees and lawns and all. It's really pretty and truthfully looks nothing like a school. "Let's go!" Soroya pulled me along behind her as she hurried over to the group who were waving her over.

"Hey Soroya!" Greetings were chorused to us, well mainly to Soroya.

"Hey guys this is my friend Amy," Soroya introduced me.

I waved and said, "Hey."

"This is Meghan, Jen, Rachel, Rebecca and Jamie," She introduced me and pointed to each girl as she said their name, in turn they each waved.

"You're from England right?" Jen asked me.

"Yeah."

"That's _so_ cool!" She gushed.

"You don't really have an accent," Rebecca commented.

"Yeah well I lived here until I was 5 so I only have a little accent," I laughed.

"It's so cute! I wish I had an accent!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"So why'd you move?" Jamie asked me.

"My mum and dad have a very successful horse rehabilitation center in England and decided to expand," I told them.

"Oh that's Heartland right?" Meghan questioned.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I asked surprised they'd even heard of my family's farm.

Meghan laughed, "Soroya's told us all about you!"

I laughed to and looked at Soroya who was trying to look annoyed, "What? I couldn't not tell them that one of my best friends was coming to this school from England, which meant I had to tell them who you were and why you were coming!"

"It's…" I began laughing but a voice cut me off.

"Hey Amy!" I heard a voice behind me yell. I ignored it because I figured there was just someone else named Amy, besides who would be talking to me? No one besides the people I was with knew me.

"Oh my god," Rachel breathed staring at a point over my shoulder.

"What?" I asked confused.

I saw them exchange questioning glances with each other.

"Er what?" I asked again still confused.

"He can't be coming over here can he?" Jen tried to rationalize with the others and they all looked over their shoulders.

"Of course he's not coming over here! He's the most popular guy in the whole school! Why would he…" Jamie began but stopped abruptly.

"Amy!" I heard from behind me again and I whipped around. I saw Ty standing there with this amazing smile on his face. It was the kind of smile that could get you out of anything and make everyone agree with you… it was pretty hot… just like he was in his faded jeans that fit him in all the right places, his dark green Lacoste polo that totally set of his green eyes and the way his dark brown hair flopped in front of his eyes… ha-ha we're getting a little of topic aren't we?

"Oh hey," I answered him and saw some of my new friends mouths practically hanging open… uh what did I do?

"Were you planning on ignoring me?" He asked jokingly.

"Er no I just thought there was some other Amy here."

"Well I don't know another Amy… I don't think." he trailed of looking deep in thought, though the slight twinkle in his eyes gave him away.

"How would I know who you know? I've met you once before!" I exclaimed jokingly.

"Ah right, and you should know that thanks to you my mum hardly let me in the car!"

"Excuse me, who started it?" I teased him, "You threw water on _my_ back!"

"Actually I believe you started it, you threw the sponge at me," He paused and shook his head, "Doesn't everyone know _not_ to throw water filled sponges? _And_ you squeezed the whole fucking sponge over my head!" He exclaimed and looked at me accusingly.

"Oh I guess you're right," was all I could say before I dissolved in laughter as I remember that day. I was laughing so hard I was clutching Soroya's arm to stay upright. I caught a glimpse of Ty's face and say him watching me bemusedly and chuckling slightly.

When I finally calmed down I took a shaky breath and asked, "So did you want something?"

"Oh yeah, are you entered in that show in 2 weeks?"

"Devon?" (**A/n**: this is a show near me) Ty nodded, "Yep. Are you?"

"Yeah, you and Sunny have a lot of work to do if you want to beet me and Chief," he challenged me.

"Oh really? Well we'll just see about that," I retorted.

Ty laughed and opened his mouth to say something but I never got to hear what he was going to say because a girl's voice called out his name, "Ty!"

I thought I heard Ty groan softly as he heard the voice but I wasn't sure, I looked over his shoulder and saw the voice had come from a girl that had long blonde hair, bright blue eyes and looked like a model. She was wearing a denim mini skirt and a light blue t-shirt, though her outfit was casual enough I'm sure that it was all designer.

"I should go," Ty told me.

"Oh okay, see you later."

"Kay, see ya," he said before he turned around and walked over to the girl and the group of people who were standing over there. I saw his put his arm around her waist and laugh at something one of the guys said.

I turned back to my new group of friends and saw they were all staring at me with shocked expressions on their faces, "Er what?"

"You know _Ty Baldwin_?" Jen asked me in a shocked voice.

"And you didn't tell your best friend!" Soroya exclaimed.

"I met him at a horse show right after I moved here, I didn't think it was that important," I told them calmly though I was still confused.

"Not important!" Jamie screeched, but not that loud, "You know who he is right?"

"Uh yeah, Ty Baldwin," I said in confusion.

"Yeah his family…" Jamie began.

I cut her off, "His family owns Baldwin Way's, I know. But he's just like a normal guy, what's the big deal?"

"Hey guys Amy wouldn't know all about him since she's never been to this school before," Soroya put in for me.

"Oh right," Rachel shook head as if just remembering this, "Okay besides being incredibly rich, the heir to Baldwin Way's and an amazing rider Ty is the most popular guy in this school!"

"And he's the star kicker for the football team!" Rebecca put in.

"And he's very, very **_HOTT_**!" Meghan exclaimed, "What? You can't say it's not true!"

The others nodded and murmured their agreement.

"Okay, so who was that girl?" I asked them even though I was already pretty sure I know who she was.

"That's his girlfriend, Ashley Grant," Soroya told me.

"Oh," I said, see I knew who she was.

"Do you like him?" Jamie asked me suspiciously.

"No!" I exclaimed, "I just met him and besides he has a girlfriend."

"So? Hasn't stopped a million other girls for falling for him," She told me.

"I don't have a crush on him!" I repeated. They didn't look like they believed me, "Besides I could have a boyfriend back in England."

"No you don't. You would have told me," Soroya said quickly. I glared at her, "Whoops sorry about that."

"Fine whatever, but I don't like him."

"You don't?" Jen asked me suspiciously.

"Well I like him… as a friend! But not like that," I told them laughing at the looks on their faces.

"Fine, whatever you say," Rachel said, they didn't really look like they believed me though. But I don't like him like _that_ so whatever.

"So what was with all that stuff about the sponge and all?" Jamie asked me.

"Oh well I met Ty at a show, I already told you that. After the show I took my horse Sundance to the water trough and was sponging him off when Ty came over with his horse. Commander in Chief, he asked me if he could borrow my sponge so I threw it at him and it got water all over him and than he splashed water on me so I squeezed the sponge all over his head than I guess it somehow turned into a water fight," I told them and was laughing by the end.

They looked at me bemusedly and Meghan asked, "So were you in the same competition thing as him?" I nodded and she continued, "From what I picked up from your conversation with him I'm guessing he won?"

"Yeah, but only by like 300ths of a second," I said a little proudly, "So I have to work hard to beat him in 2 weeks," I said determinedly.

They laughed and Soroya said, "Well we'll all come to cheer you on!"

Everyone else replied with 'yes's' but I said, "You guys don't have too, you probably have better things to do."

"Nope it will be fun!" Rebecca said excitedly.

"And as an added bonus we get to see Ty ride," Jamie said.

"Who cares about that? He'll be wearing those tights things!" Rachel said giddily.

I rolled my eyes, "You mean breeches?"

Rachel shrugged, "Who cares what they're called? They're still tight!"

"We are _so_ there!" Jamie exclaimed for everybody and they all nodded vigorously.

"And of course we're going to cheer you on too," Jen added for my benefit.

"Gee thanks," I said sarcastically.

Just than the bell sounded and everyone started walking in the direction of the grand building.

Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

**&**

(A/n: I was going to end here but I think I'll give you some more!)

_A week later_

I was leaning against the barn wall and staring at the dry erase board that held the names of all of the horses currently here. I was trying to decide if I should take Shadow or Dillon out on the trails.

Shadow was black with a little white star and was 16.2 hands high. He had been sent to Heartland to fix his fear of trailers and roads. His owners used him in hunt classes. His owners were picking him up the next day but he needed the exercise.

Dillon was mostly Quarter Horse. He was white and 16 hands high. Dillon also had a fear of trailers and roads. He had been sent with Shadow because they were stable mates and in horse terms 'best friends'. Dillon was also taken to shows and had been in the trailer when Shadow started freaking out and had hit his head on the roof when he reared. Dillon was also going home the next day but needed some exercise.

They were really sweet and I'd miss them.

I thought how much easier it would be if someone could go with me but my parents were meeting with a prospective client, Alex was giving his horse some light exercise since he was recently lame and all the people who worked here would be busy already.

"Hey Amy," my mum said behind me.

"Hey mum."

"What are you doing?" My dad asked.

"Getting ready to take Shadow or Dillon on the trails, does one of you want to come?"

I heard my dad chuckle and he said, "I'm sure Ty would go, wouldn't you Ty?"

"Huh? Is one of our hands named Ty?" I asked my dad still facing the board.

"Sure, I'd love to Mr. Fleming, but I don't think I work here," A familiar deep voice laughed.

I whipped around and saw that it was Ty _Baldwin, _"Whoops, I knew that, sorry," I said guiltily, "Hey."

"Hey," he said briefly, "So do you want me come?"

"Oh er if you want, you know if you're not busy or anything," I said.

"Good, good it's settled than," my dad said, "Amy you and Ty will take Dillon and Shadow out on the trails, they could use some exercise. Now your mother and I should get back to that client, have a good ride."

They turned to walk back down the isle to the office when my mum stopped and turned around, "Oh Ty, would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked.

I was slightly horrified at my mother's behavior and quickly tried to say, "Oh mum I'm sure he…"

"I'd love to Mrs. Fleming," he told my mum smiling that smile of his.

"Wonderful," she said cheerfully as she walked after my dad.

Once they were gone I turned to Ty and said, "You don't have to stay you know, I can just tell my parents..."

"Relax its okay, my mom and dad are going out tonight anyway. Now, which horse am I riding?"

"Oh right you can ride Shadow," I told him, "He's the big black right over there," I said pointing a few stalls down the isle where a big, elegant, black head appeared over the stall door when he heard his name.

"Awesome, so saddles are…?" He said looking over at Shadow.

"Oh right," I said and led Ty into the spacious tack room, "Shadow's things are…"

He cut me off amusedly, "Could it be right where it says Shadow by any chance?" He pointed to a rack that read 'Shadow' on the back.

I laughed out loud while inside I wondered why I was acting so weird, "Ha-ha anyway grooming buckets are right over there," I said pointing to the corner where there was a bucket for each horse.

Ty picked up Shadow's tack and grabbed a bucket and looked at me expectantly, I blushed and went to get Dillon's tack and a grooming kit for him.

I led Ty out of the tack room and we stopped in front of Shadow's stall. Ty set the saddle and pads on the saddle rack, hung the bridle on the hook and set the bucket on the floor.

"Dillon's right over here," I said as I made my way to stall right next to Shadow's and set my tack down.

"So do you tack them up in the stall or use the cross ties?" Ty asked me.

"Oh yeah we use the cross ties," I said stupidly. What was _wrong_ with me?

"Okay I was just wondering because different farms do it differently."

"Yeah, Shadow's halter should be on the stall door?"

Ty held up the leather halter, "Got it," and went into Shadow's stall and put the halter on. I did the same to Dillon and than led him out of the stall and clipped him to the crossties. Ty used the ones right behind me. It was silent for a few minutes as we brushed the horses.

I broke the silence by, "So why are you here anyway?" since I had been wondering this since he got here.

"I needed a break," Ty answered.

"Oh," I decided to push it, "From whom? Your parents?"

"No not my parents, just… somebody," he answered.

I really wanted to know who 'somebody' was but I decided not to push it because if he had wanted to tell me who it was he would have said a name instead of 'somebody', "Oh okay. So why did you come here?"

"Dunno I kind of just ended up here. But I was wondering what this place was like, its pretty cool," he told me.

"Thanks, its not really put together completely yet," I said.

"Well I like it here, its calm, you know?"

"Yeah it's great, but wait till you see the trails! They're _amazing_," I gushed not caring about being modest because after all it was true.

"So I heard you go out with Ashley Grant," I said as a way of conversation.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Ty answered.

"So how long have you been together?" I asked because I actually was pretty curious.

"I dunno, 2 years or something?" he said unsurely, "We've broken up a lot though but all ways seem to get back together," I noticed his eye brows furrow.

"That's pretty cool. So I guess you guys are pretty close and all?"

"I guess." Ty said softly looking like he was deep in thought.

"So why didn't you go to her place?" I asked. I was met with silence and glanced over at Ty who was fastening up Shadow's girth. I couldn't see his face.

Than an absurd thought struck me, _what if Ashley was the 'somebody'_? _What_ _if he didn't _want_ to be with his girlfriend_? I shook my head and dismissed all such thoughts and replaced them with, _he just didn't hear me._

I proceeded to put on Dillon's bridle trying to forget how my heart kind of flipped when I thought about how Ty had come to Heartland, _my home_, when he could have gone anywhere else.

"Are you ready to go?" I heard Ty ask and turned around to him stroking Shadow's neck. He grinned that famous smile of his at me. I guess he didn't hear my question after all…

"Yeah, let's go."

**&**

_The next day_

I walked through the student packed hallways the next morning on my way to my locker.

Last night after Ty and I got back from the trail ride I gave him a tour of Heartland and told him about our methods and he seemed really interested in them. After we ate dinner Ty went out to his black Cadillac Escalade with the pickup bed in the back and grabbed his dark green L.L Bean messenger bag. We sat around the floor in the living room and did our homework. Ty ended up doing most of my math for me, but you don't see me complaining. He only left at like 11 p.m.

Thankfully my parents managed not to embarrass themselves or me and actually seemed to really like Ty. And for reasons I cannot even begin to fathom he seemed to like them too. I mean my parents are 'cool', sometimes but sometimes they're just… crazy. Well you know what I mean.

When I reached my locker I quickly put in my combination and opened it. I was put what books I didn't need inside and closed the door to see Ashley Grant standing in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest and glaring… at me.

"I heard _my boyfriend_ was at your house last night," she said with a heavy emphasize on the 'my boyfriend'.

"Ty? Yeah he was," I answered back wondering what the big deal was.

"What did you do?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing really," I lied, not really in the mood to talk to her.

"Yeah well stay away from him," she said snottily.

"Excuse me?"

"Stay away from Ty," she repeated, "He shouldn't be hanging around with someone like _you_."

"I think Ty can choose who wants to hang out with by himself," I retorted.

She however ignored me and said, "Stay away from him; he doesn't need you adding to all that horse crap."

Oh my god, why would Ty date someone who hated horses? Horses were what his whole life was centered around, other than that football kicking thing which I still don't understand.

"Um okay…" I wasn't really sure _how_ to reply to that.

"Stay away from him, he's _my boyfriend_."


	4. Horses don't always come first

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for the long (for me anyway) wait for this chapter! Midterms at school… blah. I'll probably update every 4 days or something since I prefer typing on my laptop at my mom's house and I'm here every other day and I have my other story to update too! So anyway thanks for all the GREAT reviews! I didn't think I'd get this many… not that I'm complaining:) So this chapter I LOVE because it's basically about football! Yeah me! Lol! So **ENJOY** and **REVIEW**!

Oh and if any of you have time or would like to see a better example of my writing check out my other story! It's called "Dirty Little Secret" and it's in the Alex Rider section!

**Disclaimer**: Based loosely on characters created and owned my Lauren Brooke.

**&**

**Chapter 3**

I had just finished with Sunny's training for the day, the show's in 2 days! I'm really excited, I think Sunny and I have a good chance to beat Ty and Chief.

I was just walking out of the barn, after I put Sunny away, when I saw a car pull up in the driveway. It looked familiar but I just figured it was a client my parents were planning on meeting with. It was a gleaming black Cadillac Escalade with the truck bed thing in the back… oh yeah. Duh! That was Ty's truck.

I walked over to Ty as he jumped out of the car; we hadn't really spoken since he was over here that day we went riding. I don't know if it had anything to do with what Ashley said or not, I know he was busy with football practice and training Chief and all so who knows?

"Hey!" Ty called out to me and waved when he saw me approaching.

"Hey," I said as I reached him, "What's up?"

"Haven't seen you in a while," he said casually as he leaned against his car. I have to say he did look hott, I mean come on, guys+carstotal hotness add horses to that and boy oh boy… hehe. I think I'm getting off topic.

"Yeah…" I trailed off.

"Hey I'm sorry about what Ashley said to you," he said sympathetically.

"No," I sighed, "Its okay, I…"

he cut me off though, "No its not okay, she had no right to say something like that, Ashley's just so… well…" he trailed off looking for the proper way to describe her, "Ashley like," he concluded.

I laughed a little, "Okay. So why are you here?"

"Oh yeah I have to ask you something."

"Yeah what?"

"Well you know how our first game is tomorrow?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yep."

"I was wondering if you were going to go?"

"Er I dunno," I said.

"Aw come on, you should go!"

"I don't know anything about football."

"So?"

"Well I should know what's going on." I laughed, "I think Soroya and the others are going though, so… sure I'll go," I told him.

Ty grinned and said, "Awesome, hold on a minute," before he turned and opened the door to his car. I watched as he pulled something from the passenger seat. He held it up; it was white with green trimmings and a big, green number '2' on the front.

"Erm what is it?" I asked stupidly.

Ty laughed and said, "A football jersey."

"Well yeah I knew that, I meant why do you have it?"

(a/n: Okay so for this next part I know that in high-school you don't have jerseys with your name on it or their own football stadiums but hey this isn't 'AU' for nothing, so just go along with it!)

"Well it's my jersey. See?" he turned it around so I saw the name 'Baldwin' in dark green letters proudly displayed at the top, "And it's for you," he said and handed it to me.

I took the jersey and the material swished in my fingers, "Thanks but why are you giving it to me?"

Ty laughed again and shook his head, "It's for you to wear, you know to the game tomorrow?"

"Oh thanks!" I said enthusiastically.

"Great so you're coming tomorrow?" he asked with a grin.

"Yeah. But I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Uh what exactly do you uh do?" he looked at me in confusion, "I mean on the football team? I know you're the kicker or something but what do you do?"

"Well I'm the kicker, can you guess what I do?" he said jokingly.

"You kick the football?" he nodded, "Ugh! I thought you use your hands in football!"

Ty sighed and said, "You really don't know anything about football do you?"

"No!" I exclaimed, exasperated, "In England we had rugby, I'm sure some people watched football, but I never paid any attention!"

"This could take awhile…"

"Oh if you're busy it's cool. I can just ask someone else, or go on the internet," I said quickly.

"No, I'm not busy, its fine. You want to hang out or something? We could go to my house," he offered.

"Sure!" I agreed, "If you're sure you don't have anything to do or something."

"I'm positive, now let's go!" he said while turning to open the door to the driver's seat.

I stayed where I was and said, "Actually do you mind if I change first?" I gestured towards my jeans, muddy boots and leather ½ chaps and I'm pretty sure my hair was coming out of its pony tail.

Ty turned around and said, "Okay, sure."

I turned and walked into my house and Ty followed me. I opened the side door that led to a little room we used for boots and coats and stuff when working outside and took of my ½ chaps and boots.

As I walked into the kitchen I yelled, "Hello?" to see if anyone was there.

My older sister Lou walked into the kitchen and said, "Hey Amy."

"Oh hey Lou, what are you doing here?"

"I'm Heartland's accountant, remember?" she said jokingly and looked questioningly at Ty who was standing next to me.

"Oh yeah, Lou this is Ty. Ty this is my sister Lou," I made the introductions.

They nodded and said their greetings to each other before Lou said, "So what are you guys doing?"

"I'm going to get changed and than we're going to Ty's place," I told my older sister.

"Yeah and I'm going to attempt to explain football to Amy," Ty said jokingly.

Lou looked shocked and asked, "What's with the sudden interest in football?" questioningly.

"Ty's on the football team and convinced me to go to the game tomorrow," I said and held up the jersey so she saw 'Baldwin' with the number '2' under it.

She looked momentarily surprised at the name 'Baldwin' but thankfully she didn't say anything about it, "Oh what's your position?"

"Kicker," Ty said somewhat proudly.

"Ah right, so what's your favorite NFL team?"

"Philadelphia Eagles." (A/n: My favorite team!)

"Really? That's Scott's, my husband's, favorite team," Lou said, "I bet I can guess your favorite player?"

Ty grinned and said, "Probably could, David Akers." (A/n: DAVID AKERS RULES!)

Than they started talking about the Super Bowl or something and how the Philadelphia Eagles (whoever they are) won last year and how David Akers (whoever he is) did something… good I guess. But like I said I have no idea what so ever what they are talking about so I excused myself and went upstairs to change.

I put on a pair of faded jeans, my black converses, a navy Lacoste polo and my black North Face jacket, tied my hair into a lose pony tail and headed back downstairs where Lou and Ty were still talking about football.

When Ty saw me he smiled and said, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," I replied and we headed for the door but I turned around and said, "Oh Lou? Can you tell mum and dad I'll be back later?"

"Sure Amy, see you tomorrow, bye Ty."

"See ya Lou," Ty called out.

"Bye Lou, tell Scott hi too," I told her before we walked out of the door and over to Ty's totally hott truck. I got in the passenger side and settled into the soft leather seat.

It was only about a 15 minute drive from Heartland to Ty's house… if you can call it a house. It was a huge stone mansion surrounded by huge trees and had a circular driveway. In the distance you could see the barns, training rings, paddocks, and the 1 mile track. They had their own road that was at least a ½ mile long! On either side it was lined with lush green pastures and huge trees. Some of the most magnificent horses I'd ever seen were grazing inside those paddocks.

"Whoa," was all I said as Ty pulled his truck in front of the 10 car (literally) garage, "This is amazing!" I exclaimed as I looked around the vastness of Baldwin Ways.

"It is pretty nice, isn't it?" Ty said thoughtfully and we got out of the car and walked up to the front door. And I thought Heartland was big! Ha what a joke, this was literally 5 times the size of Heartland, at least.

Ty opened the huge mahogany door and I walked into the entrance hall, oh my god his house was amazing! I'm not even going to try to explain it, just picture one of those amazing houses they show on MTV's Coolest Cribs or whatever it's called. Though it's probably bigger than all those places and I have to say it was decorated with a much better taste.

(a/n: Sorry I like literally just got sick and my nose is all stuffed up so I just didn't feel like explaining!)

"Come on," Ty said to me with that grin of his plastered to his face, "Follow me," and he led me down a bunch of a halls before we got to our destination. Ty flung the door opened and motioned for me to go in.

I gasped; it was probably the most gorgeous room I'd _ever_ seen.

There were dark, hard wood floors that were partially covered with a beautiful green oriental rug. The ceiling was pretty high up and practically one whole side of the room was a window that had dark green velvet drapes flowing to the ground. On one wall was _the_ biggest flat screen TV I'd ever (and probably ever will) see, the mahogany media cabinet was filled with DVD's. There was a complex stereo system attached to it and there were speakers in the corners of the ceiling. There was a mahogany coffee table in front of a huge light colored, leather couch and several arm chairs. On the other side of the room in the alcove was a library, the walls were lined with books. I suppose that this would be considered 'small' for a library but it was awesome.

Ty chuckled as he followed me into the room, "Yeah this is my favorite room," Yeah I can see why! He walked over to the library and pulled several books off the shelves before sitting down at the mahogany table and chairs in front of the library, "Come on," he said to me and I walked over to him in a daze and sat in one of the chairs, "Let's start…"

**&**

_An hour or so later_

"Okay, so in football the offence has 4 chances, or downs, to move the football the 10 yards required for a 1st down. If the team with the ball gets the 1st down than they have the 4 chances back to get another 1st down. If the team with the ball doesn't get it the 10 yards after the 4 downs than the punter kicks it off to the other side," I recited what Ty had told me.

"Yes!" Ty exclaimed, "And what do I do?"

"Okay you're the kicker so after your team gets a touchdown you try for the extra point."

"And…?" Ty encouraged me to go on.

"And if by the 3rd down if you have good field position and your coach decides to not risk it you try for the field goal. Oh yeah and you kick it off to the other side after touchdowns."

"Great and how about the scoring system, how points are rewarded?"

"Okay a touchdown is 6 points, after that you try for the extra 1 point, or your team can try for the 2 point conversion. When it's a field goal it's worth 3 points," I said triumphantly as Ty grinned.

"See was that really that hard?"

"Well yeah seeing as it confused me for like an hour and I still don't even know the other positions and rules."

"Well I think you know enough to be able to understand what's going on tomorrow," Ty retorted.

"Yeah I guess that's true," I propped my head on one of my hands and looked across the table at Ty, "Hey thanks for helping me; I'm sure there were a million other things you could have been doing today."

"No problem and I wanted to help," Ty told me, "And besides if I wasn't with you I'd probably be doing something I didn't want to be doing right now."

"What?" I asked interestedly.

"Oh nothing… you know what? No. I would have probably had to go to the mall or something with Ashley," he grimaced.

"Oh, that bad huh?" I joked.

Ty smiled and said, "No, it's just that sometimes I don't understand Ashley or why I'm even going out with her," he told me truthfully.

For some reason this made my heart flip a little but I ignored it and said, "Well you've got to understand her, you said you've been together for 3 years."

"It's just that she's so possessive and clingy. It's like I have to be with her all the time and she has to know what I'm doing all the time and all my friends have to be 'cleared' by her or she totally flips out," Ty complained.

"Well I'm sure she just… cares about you," I told him.

"I don't know but it's really starting to piss me off. Like how she went crazy at you because I didn't tell her about you. We don't even have anything in common!" he exclaimed, "She hates horses, why am I with someone who hates horses? That's practically my whole life!"

I was silent and looked across the table at Ty. My gray eyes met his emerald green ones. We kind of just locked eyes for a minute or 2. I felt like if I allowed myself I could fall so deep into the twin emerald pools that were his eyes. I felt bare, like he could see into my very soul.

I tore my eyes away from his and said rather uncomfortably, "I should get going."

Ty shook his head as if he was trying to rid himself of a previous thought, "Oh yeah right," he said as he stood up from his chair and I did the same, "I'll drive you."

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

I went to gather the books we had been using back up but Ty stopped me when he put a hand on my arm, "It's okay, leave them. I'll get them later," he removed his hand from my arm but I felt the place where he had touched me tingling.

What's going on with me? I've _never_ felt this way before…

On the drive back to Heartland we chatted aimlessly about whatever came up, nothing really important.

When we got back to my house I jumped out of the car and Ty said, "Hey, this was fun. You should come over again sometime."

"That would be great."

"So see you tomorrow at the game or if I don't I'll see you Sunday at the show."

"Yeah see you later."

"Bye," he said before I slammed the door shut.

Ty turned his truck around and waved before driving back off down the driveway. I watched until his headlights disappeared and than walked up to the front of my house feeling strangely happy and content for the first time since I'd moved.

**&**

_At the game, Saturday afternoon_

"This is going to be so much fun!" Meghan exclaimed as we walked into the already pretty crowded football stadium the next afternoon about ½ an hour before the game was scheduled to start. I was with Meghan, Jen, Jamie, Soroya, Rachel and Rebecca, who were all either wearing a dark green shirt or a school shirt in honor of the Green Hawks, who were Green Acres Prep's team. I was wearing a pair of medium colored jeans and the jersey Ty had given me the night before. Surprisingly, it fit just right, not too small but not too big and I had it tied around the middle with a hair band.

"So tell me how exactly you got that jersey," Rebecca asked for the millionth time with a silly grin on her face.

I sighed and said, "I already told you, Ty came to Heartland and asked if I was going to the game. I said yes and he gave me this jersey to wear."

Jamie sighed, "I wish I was you."

"Uh why would you want to be me?"

"Because Ty Baldwin likes you!" she said enviously.

"Not like that he doesn't," I told them to set them straight, "We're just friends."

"You keep saying that," Jen said.

"Because it's true!" I exclaimed mater-of-factly while trying to forget how our eyes had locked last night. "Besides, he has a girlfriend," I reminded them.

"Ashley?" Meghan said in disdain.

"They're _so_ not good together," Soroya put in.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"They fight all the time and they've broken up more times than I can count," Soroya told me.

"But they always get back together," I reasoned, "So that has to mean something."

"I think Ty's going to dump her soon anyway," Jamie said and I looked at her, "She's always ordering him around and won't ever leave him alone."

This I already knew from last night.

"Well he certainly doesn't like me like that," I told them stubbornly.

"Okay but how would you know that?" Jen said making a good point.

"Why would he like me?" I retorted.

"Well let's see, you hott, smart, funny, and you're totally into horses," Rachel commented.

"And out of all those things the only thing Ashley is, is hott," Rebecca put in.

"Yeah she hates horses, so isn't smart and not too funny either," Jen said.

"Okay but he _doesn't_ like me," I said firmly hoping that they'd just drop everything now.

"Okay Amy," Jamie sighed.

"Whatever you say," Meghan said.

**&**

_End of game_

YEAH! We won! The first game of the season and we won! 44-10 at that! I think I'm going to start watching football; it was pretty cool and exciting.

I admit I didn't understand everything that was going on but for the most part I understood _how_ the game was going and what was happening.

Ty was brilliant! At least that's what everyone at Green Acres thinks and even some people from the other school thought so too. We were winning basically the whole game and Ty made some brilliant kicks from like 45 yards back or so. It was amazing, he didn't miss one kick!

I know there had to be some college recruiters watching today's game and they would all probably be begging Ty to come to their university.

I didn't get to talk to Ty though. I saw him and the rest of the team come out from the locker rooms and I think he was heading towards me but Ashley intercepted him and jumped on him and kissed him. I felt a pang in my chest as I watched this but pushed it away.

"Look she's not even wearing green," Soroya said in disgust and we all looked at Ashley's outfit, another short denim skirt and a pink top with high pink Uggs.

"I guess that shows how much she really cares about Ty," Meghan said scornfully as we walked to the parking lot.

"It looked like he was coming over to you though Amy," Jen said after a minute.

"I doubt it," I mumbled and continued walking. Even though secretly, deep down I hopped that it was true, at least a little.

**&**

_Devon Horse Show, Sunday_

"And the next competitor is Amy Fleming on Sundance!" the announcer announced to the crowd as I rode proudly into the ring. The crowd cheered loudly and I set off towards the 1st fence.

Sunny was brilliant! I don't think we've ever had a better round. We flew over every fence at a pretty good pace but didn't get any faults.

The crowed cheered loudly again as I soared over the last fence and the announcer said, "Amy Fleming and Sundance ride clear and collect no faults! Their time is enough to bring them into first place! Our next competitor is Ty Baldwin on Commander in Chief!"

As I rode out of the ring I passed Ty, "Good luck," I said brightly to him. He just smiled tensely at me and tuned his attention back to Chief.

Chief seemed to be fighting a bit for the reins and didn't seem as calm as he normally was.

I rode up to my friends and family who were all standing by the side of the ring. They all called congratulations out to me as I hopped off Sundance.

I turned back to the ring to watch Ty's round. Chief certainly was not himself today. He wasn't as responsive to Ty's commands as he had been the previous show. Ty tried to walk Chief in a circle to get him to calm but Chief was at a fast, nervous paced trot that he would not break. He shied away in front of one of the jumps that had a bunch of colorful flowers at its base. He hollowed his back and flung his head up in the air and tried to snatch the reins away from Ty.

Ty sat deep in the saddle and tried to get Chief to calm down. I caught a glimpse of his worried face as the judge gave him the signal to start the course. Ty turned Chief towards the first fence and nudged him into a canter, a canter Chief seemed almost reluctant to pick up.

Chief cantered stiffly to the first fence and gave a tremendous leap to get over it. His tail was clamped down and he picked up a faster pace. As Ty rounded the corner of the ring I was standing at, I saw him speaking clam words to Chief but they seemed to have no effect on the horse.

Every jump was worse than the last. On the 5th jump Chief gave a mighty buck after they had landed and I was surprised to see that Ty managed to keep his seat.

_What was going on with Chief?_ I thought worriedly. This was not him; it was like someone had switched Chief with another horse.

It was at the last jump that everything went from bad to worse.

It was a water jump so I'm guessing Chief spooked at how the sun was glinting of the water?

But it was so weird, it was like there was still a part of Chief that wanted to please Ty and do well but there was a greater part that was acting strange, for seemingly no reason at all.

Chief hesitated before the jump and gave a buck. Chief, however, did not stop; he crashed through the jump sending polls flying everywhere. Since it was a water jump he slid on the water in the small tub under the jump.

That's when it happened.

Ty had already become slightly unseated from when they crashed through the jump. It seemed like Chief started to go down but managed to catch himself at the last second. He proceeded to give a series of wild bucks that would have made even the best rodeo bronco jealous.

Chief squealed piercingly before he gave one more buck.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I watched Ty being thrown from the saddle and flying threw the air.

The sound was turned back on just in time to hear Ty land on the hard, solid ground with a sickening thud.

Time stood still for a moment before a scream cut threw the silence like a knife, "TY!"

The scream was from me and I chucked my helmet and Sunny's reins at whoever was closest and quickly jumped the fence, dodging the security who yelled at me not to go into the ring.

For the first time in my life I didn't think of the horse first.

I completely ignored Commander in Chief, who was still bucking and rearing around the ring, as I ran toward Ty's still body lying in the short grass…


	5. Is April Fools early this year?

**Author's Note**

Thanks for all the GREAT reviews I'm getting for this story! Well in this chapter you get to find out what happens to Ty… and no, he didn't die, he's too hot to just kill like that:) This is **_The_** chapter, where everything happens… okay well maybe not _everything_… **Enjoy** and **Review**!

Oh and a part is in here that I think many of you will like but was not meant to be in for a few more chapters! The place was perfect and my fingers decided to disobey my brain and it fit too perfectly to take out.

Super Bowl's tomorrow! Woot woot! I'm a total Eagles fan but since they're not in the Super Bowl this year I'm rooting for the Seahawks! I'm so excited! I LOVE the Super Bowl!

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters and places created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**&**

**Chapter 4**

"Oh my god!" I gasped as I dropped to my knees in front of Ty's still body. I swear I almost had a heart attack out of relief when I saw his chest still visibly rising and falling beneath his perfectly tailored dark blue show jacket.

I gently placed my hands on his shoulders and shook him slightly, "Ty, Ty come on. Wake up!" I gently brushed back the hair that had fallen in front of his eyes.

I looked nervously over my shoulder; I could see people watching us nervously. Ty's family was standing at the fence as close to Ty as they could get. I felt my heart go out to them when I saw the looks of shock, fear and pain across their elegant features. In the distance I could hear an emergency vehicles sirens approaching.

I was relieved to see that one of the Baldwin's grooms had managed to catch Chief and was, unsuccessfully, trying to calm him down.

"Oh Ty please, come on, wake up!" I said desperately. I sighed in relief as I heard him groan, "Oh thank god! Open your eyes Ty!" I pleaded and almost collapsed in relief when I saw his eyes flutter open.

He groaned again and he looked up at me, "Amy?" he said softly.

"Yeah it's me, are you okay?" he didn't say anything, "Um your back? Head? Neck?"

"I don't think so." he trailed of.

"Okay can you move your legs?" he bent his legs up and I sighed in relief again, "What about your arms?" he picked his left arm up but when he started to pick up his right arm he groaned,

"I think it's broken," he groaned.

I tried to think of what to do, "Oh gosh, do you think you can stand up? Or do you want to wait till they bring the stretcher?"

"I can stand."

I put an arm around his shoulders to help him get up since he only had one arm that he could use. There was deafening applause from the audience as Ty sat up. His family looked relieved. His father had an arm around his mother who looked like she was crying.

"Are you okay?" I asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good," Ty answered though I don't think he looked to good.

Somehow I managed to get Ty to his feet. I put an arm around his waist to help support him and he had an arm around my shoulders and leaning down on to me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked again.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy."

"Do you want to lie back down and wait for the paramedics to come?"

"No, I'm up already."

Slowly I helped Ty walk to the gate. Once we were out we were met with Ty's family. Ty collapsed against his dad and his mom hugged him. I heard him groan as someone bumped into his arm.

I quietly walked away, back to where my family and friends were. I didn't meet any of my friends' eyes because I knew what they were going to say and I just needed to think about _that_. Because truthfully, I don't know _why_ I reacted so fast or how I did to Ty being hurt.

"Is Ty okay honey?" my mum asked sounding concerned.

I sighed, "Yeah, it's just his arm," I said softly.

I watched the rest of the competitors in silence, not really seeing them.

"And first place goes to Amy Fleming on Sundance!" The announcer shouted. I hauled myself back on Sunny and rode into the ring amidst the cheering. I'd wanted to win but now it didn't feel so worth it.

Once I'd collected my ribbon and posed for the picture I rode out of the ring. I slowly un-tacked Sunny and gave him a quick brushing before throwing a light water-repellent sheet over him, despite the warm temperature it had started to drizzle.

I was leaning against the water trough while watching Sunny drinking when Soroya came up to me.

"Hey Amy," she said and it startled me out of my thoughts.

"Oh hey," I looked up at her.

She came up and stroked Sunny's damp neck, "You guys looked really good today," she complimented.

"Thanks, Sunny was great! I don't think he's ever gone better. So what did you guys do all day? I haven't seen you much."

"Oh well while you were tacking up and stuff we walked around and watched some other events."

"So anything interesting happen?"

"Well you know that guy who got second place in your class?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, Daniel Lawson or something?" she nodded, "What about him?" I asked interestedly. (a/n: Sorry I don't like Daniel!)

"He was like hitting on all of us, it was pretty weird."

I laughed, "Yeah, he seems kind of creepy."

"Tell me about it! He was acting all cocky like, totally weird."

"Aw come on Roya," I said using my nickname for her, "You guys would look cute together!"

She grimaced, "Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. But while we're on the topic, what was up with you and Ty earlier?"

I mentally berated myself for bringing up the exact topic I had been trying to avoid, "Nothing," I said simply. She looked at me in disbelief, "What? He fell off his horse and I helped him."

"You reacted faster than anybody else _and_ you screamed, I would hardly call that nothing," she looked at me suggestively.

"Anyone would have done it; I was just helping out a friend," I tried to say logically.

"You didn't react the way a _friend_ would. I mean just a _friend_, if you added a little word in front of _friend_ than that's closer to how you acted."

"What do you mean? If I fell off Sunny would you try to see if I was okay?"

"Well yeah but I don't know if I would run in front of crazy horse to do so," she joked.

"Oh thanks," I rolled my eyes, "But seriously, if Ashley was here I bet she would have done something."

"Amy she _was_ here!" Soroya exclaimed and I looked at her in shock, "She was talking on her cell phone the whole time! I doubt she even realized Ty was hurt!"

"Oh," I said weakly.

"Look Amy, you're allowed to like him. Don't tell me you don't think he's hot."

"Oh no, there's no denying that one," I admitted with a smile.

Soroya laughed, "Just because he has a girlfriend doesn't mean you can't."

I cut her off, "I know! I just." I trailed off and looked back down at Sunny who was playing with the water, of course.

"Amy, _do_ you like him?" Soroya asked softly.

I sighed, "I don't know! Before today I would have answered 'no' and have been positive but now…" I trailed off. After a minute of staring into the clear water I sighed in a defeated way and said, "Fine, I do, I like Ty."

Soroya squealed and clapped her hands, "Oh yes I knew it! Oh! You guys would be so cute together!"

I blushed, "Erm yeah but we're not going to be together."

"I think he's going to break up with Ashley! He's totally into you!"

"I don't think so Soroya, just please don't tell anyone!" I pleaded.

"Fine fine fine, I won't tell anyone," she agreed, "But I still think he likes you!" I groaned, "You two would be like perfect together!"

"Look Roya he has a girlfriend," she opened her mouth to say something, "They've been together for _three_ years. That's long time; they have to have _something_ good together."

"But Ashley's _so_ not good for him! They have nothing in common! You'd be so much better for him!" she whined.

"Look, whether or not Ashley's good enough for him is for Ty to decide."

"Okay fine," she complained.

"Can we just not talk about it anymore? Please?"

"Okay," she sighed, "And I won't tell anyone else," we turned to head back for the trailer. Soroya quickly added, "But I still think you're perfect for each other!"

**&**

_Green Acres Prep, next day_

In honor of my first place win yesterday at the horse show mum and dad _finally_ decided to take me out to a car dealer to get a car! I got a Jeep Liberty Sport in red! (**a/n**: this is the car I'm getting! It's so cute!) So now I don't have to hitch rides with my friends everywhere.

When I pulled into the schools parking lot I found a spot next to Soroya's BMW convertible and skillfully parked my awesome new car. I grabbed my bag and jumped out. I made sure the doors were locked before I headed to the school. I caught my reflection in the shinning, spotless body of my car. I think I looked pretty good, I had on a short, dark denim skirt and a deep sea blue t-shirt with a little pocket on the left side of my chest. Both were from American Eagle, which is like my favorite store. I had on very minimal amounts of makeup, just a little eyeliner and lip-gloss and my light brown hair was left down.

I headed over to the big tree where all of my friends and I met everyday and that we had so cleverly nicknamed 'The Big Tree'. Everyone was already there when I joined them.

"Oh my god your car is so cute!" Jamie exclaimed when I reached them.

"I know right?" I grinned.

"I wish my parents would get me a new car," Meghan complained.

"Yours is only like 3 years old!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"I know," Meghan whined, "I'm just so bored of it."

We all laughed.

"So did you get it as a present for winning yesterday in the show?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Well I had a car in England but mum and dad didn't want to ship it here so they promised me I could get a new one. Yesterday just turned out to be a day when they could take me to the car dealer," I explained.

"Oh cool, what kind of car did you have in England?" Jen asked me.

"I had a…" I began but was cut off when Jamie groaned, "What?" I asked.

"Here comes trouble," she said and gestured over my shoulder.

I turned around to see Ashley Grant walking… well it was more like strutting over to where I was standing under 'The Big Tree' followed by a bunch of her friends. She was wearing another _short_ black skirt, a white shirt, a plum colored Juicy Couture zip-up velour jacket with a pair of big, tinted beach house sunglasses. Her long blonde hair was down and she was daintily chewing on a piece of gum.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded when she reached my little group.

"Waiting for the bell to ring," I replied.

She rolled her eyes and said, "No not _now_! Yesterday, what was all that about? I thought I told you before that Ty's _my_ boyfriend!"

"And he's my friend," I retorted, "So I…"

She snorted and cut me off, "He's not your_ friend_. He pities you. Honestly, why would Ty _Baldwin_ want to be friends with someone like _you_?" She heavily accented 'Baldwin' and looked me up and down with a cold glare when she said 'you'.

"Okay and you are his girlfriend so I could ask you, why didn't _you_ help him when he was thrown from Chief?"

"And step in mud and horse shit!" she exclaimed in disbelief, "I think not! It would have _so_ ruined my new boots."

"So shoes are more important than your boyfriend?"

She glared at me icily, "Those boots were like $500!"

"So why did you wear them to a horse show?"

"As if I'm going to let a stupid animal show dictate what I'm going to wear! Horses and stupid, smelly, boring and a waste of time," she finalized.

"You do know your precious boyfriend is the heir to Baldwin Way's right?"

"Duh, what about it?"

"You do know that's a horse business right? And all the money that buys you your stupid, little, expensive gifts comes from those, as you put it, 'stupid animals'?"

"So? I like the money, I don't care where that comes from. But when I marry Ty I'll get him to shut the stupid place down, god knows he has enough money now for us to live a happy, comfortable, luxurious life, _together_."

I pushed down the strange feelings of jealousy and said, "So you're going to marry him now?"

"Of course," she said chewing on her gum.

"And do you have something to ensure that little statement? A ring perhaps?"

"I'm expecting one for a Christmas gift," she said grinning.

I found I had nothing to say to this so I kept quiet.

"So why don't you just stay away from Ty," she said in a commanding voice, "You're just fooling yourself if you think you have a chance with him. Why don't you just pack that stupid little farm of yours up and go back to England!"

I kept my mouth firmly shut so I didn't let any of the things I wanted to say to her out. I knew from my conversations with Ty recently that all was not a happy paradise island between the two but her words did hurt. It was all stupid, hell _I_ was stupid; stupid for feeling this way, stupid for actually listening to Ashley's words. I can't _believe_ I was letting myself feel this way! And over a guy no less!

"Excuse me, I forgot something in my car," I said coldly and pushed passed her. I walked quickly back in the direction of my new, red car, hoping that I could get a few minutes of quiet to just think.

But of course Ashley had to have the last say and as I passed her she said, "Yes well you should know, they're putting that stupid horse of his down! Under my suggestion too! So I guess that shows something if his parents will listen to me!"

I spun around to yell at her but bumped into someone. I felt strong hands grip my shoulders to help me from falling over.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly and than I noticed that one of those hands was wrapped in a tan, ACE banage… uh oh, I really hope Ty did not hear that little exchange.

"Ashley what the _hell_ was all that about?" Ty roared so loud that it attracted the attention of the whole student population that was outside on the grand front lawn.

"Oh hey baby," Ashley purred while she snaked her arms around Ty's neck.

Ty looked disgusted and wrenched her arms off his neck, "I suggest," he said in a cold voice, "That you leave me alone."

Ashley made a puppy dog face at him and whined, "Aw come on baby I was only playing."

"I don't find a word of what you just said amusing and I did not hear it in a playing manner. So I suggest that if you can't accept the fact that I have other friends than you leave, _now_," he told her.

"Are you breaking up with me?" she demanded.

He looked at me for a moment and that looked back at Ashley, "Yes," he said firmly.

"What? You can't do that!"

"Well I just did, I'm tired of you and your games Ashley. I'm finished, I can't take it anymore, I should have done this sooner but I was blind before, yesterday opened my eyes to a few things."

Ashley crossed her arms over her chest, "Who's going to better for you than _me_?"

"I can think of someone," Ty said purposefully, he didn't even falter when he said those words.

"Ah! Your parents thought we were perfect together!"

"Well my parents don't dictate my life do they? And truthfully I don't think they ever thought we were that good together, they were just being nice."

"Fine Ty, whatever, but you will be back."

"Not this time Ashley," he turned to me and said, "Amy, I have to talk to you."

I stuttered, "Oh I… I was just going to my… my car…"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from a very pissed off Ashley and my very shocked group of friends.

"Thank you," he said when we were out of hearing range from anyone else.

"For what?" I asked confused.

"For yesterday."

"O-oh that, it was nothing, really."

"I wasn't nothing," he said staring at me, "It was so far from nothing, it was great. What you did was… I don't know if anyone has ever done something like that for me before," he said softly.

I looked at the ground so he wouldn't see the blush creeping up my face, "It's… well I… I was helping a friend," I said finally and looked up at Ty with a smile.

He looked thoughtful for a few moments before saying, "Friends… we are friends aren't we?"

"Yeah I guess we are."

Than Ty said suddenly, "No."

"What?" I asked cautiously.

"I don't want to be friends."

My heart thudded hard against my chest, I felt like I was going to be sick, "Oh… well… I…"

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" Ty said quickly when he caught sight of the look on my face.

"Well than how did you mean it?" I asked wearily.

"I meant I don't want to be _friends_, I want to be more than friends."

……………………………………………………… Oh my god………… I'm dreaming, I have to be dreaming. I know Ty Baldwin did _not_ just say that he wants to be more that just friends with… _me_…

Finally I managed to find my voice and said, "But you… you just broke up with your girlfriend… don't you think that maybe you should…"

He shook his head and cut me off, "No, I broke up with Ashley because we have nothing in common and let's face it; she's a first class bitch. Its like yesterday… yesterday opened my eyes to a whole hell of a lot of things that have been right in front of my face for weeks," he laughed slightly.

"Are you sure you're just not high on pain killers for your arm or something?" I tried to reason, "Because I mean really, you and… _me_?"

"I like it," he said firmly.

I gratefully leaned against the tree in back of me and let out a shaky breath. I think I'd liked him ever since I met him, I just didn't realize it until yesterday. And I won't deny that last night I had fantasized of this happening, but I seriously never thought it would actually happen, it caught me so off guard. Than I asked the question I need to know the answer to, "Why? Why me? Out of all the people who would gladly go out with you, why choose me?"

Ty answered almost instantly, "Because you're everything Ashley isn't. You're smart, you're funny, thoughtful. You care about other people, you're not self centered. You like horses. You never seem to try so hard with your appearance but you always look great, what you're wearing now for example," he gestured to my outfit, "When you wear something like that it looks natural but when Ashley wears almost the same outfit it looks like she's trying to hard," he sighed and than concluded, "I feel comfortable around you, like I can be myself and I can be happy."

I was silent as I digested this new piece of information. Did he really think that highly of me? Or did April Fools day just come early this year?

Ty laughed and looked up at the top of the tree. Than he looked back at me and said, "Listen to me, you probably think I'm coming on too strong or something."

"No," I said softly looking in his eyes, "I think what you said is great. I find it a little hard to believe all that is true about me but its great."

Ty smiled a smile that reached his eyes, "Are you busy Saturday?" he asked suddenly.

"No, I don't think so."

"I was going to take my sail boat out on the lake, come with me," he asked me.

I was surprised but quickly found my voice, "Sure that would be great," I smiled.

Ty smiled too and said, "Great. So it's a date?"

I paused for a moment but than told him happily, "Yeah it's a date."

Is this really happening? Did Ty Baldwin just ask me out on a _date_? If this is a dream I don't want to wake up anytime soon.

"I should go, you know, school's soon and all," I said.

"Oh yeah right, so I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," I turned to head back over to the 'Big Tree' when Ty's voice stopped me,

"Amy wait."

I turned back around slowly; I _knew_ this was too good to be true.

"Yeah?" I said carefully.

"I need to talk to you, about Chief."

"Oh my god I completely forgot!" I exclaimed, "How's your arm?" I asked in concern.

"It hurts a bit but I'll get over it. The doctor said it's just a bad sprain though so it should be good in a week or so."

"Oh that's good. So what about Chief? What was up with him yesterday? It was really weird."

"I have no idea. He's never acted like that before, the only other time I fell off of him was when I first got him and that had been my fault anyway. But my mom and dad went crazy yesterday. They said he was dangerous and I could have been killed so when Ashley said he should be put down, they agreed. I could have killed her right there but there were too many witnesses."

I gasped in shock, "They can't put him down! Isn't there anything you can do?" I asked desperately.

"They said they'd give me one chance to figure out what was wrong with him."

"What are you going to do?" I asked in concern. I knew how important Chief was too Ty because Sunny was so important to me.

"I was wondering, do you think I could bring Chief to Heartland?"

For the millionth time that day Ty managed to leave me incapable of words. Finally I managed to say, "Bu-but why? If you have only one chance…"

"I did some research yesterday when I wasn't allowed to leave my room. I managed to contact some people who sent horses to your family in England and they said you were great and recommended you whole heartedly. And I was at Heartland before and you showed me around and told me about the work you guys do and it's great. I think that if anyone can help it's you."

"I…"

"Please Amy, you're my… you're Chief's last chance," he pleaded.

"Okay, you'll have to talk to my parents first but okay," I laughed.

Ty suddenly crossed the distance between us and hugged me. We both laughed and I said, "Come by Heartland after school or whenever and talk with my parents."

"Thanks Amy you're great," he said smiling.

"Okay well I'll see you later," I told him.

"Yeah see you," he said.

I turned to walk back to the 'Big Tree' and my friends in a daze.

"Oh my god Amy what happened?" Jen asked eagerly when I reached them.

"Yeah come on, spill!" Meghan urged.

"He wasn't to send Chief to Heartland," I told them.

Soroya groaned, "And?" she prodded.

"And he asked me out," I said, still somewhere high in the clouds.

They squealed, clapped and jumped up and down at my announcement.

"I knew he was going to ask you out!" Soroya exclaimed triumphantly.

Just than the bell rang and we made our way to the school. My friends were still chattering happily and I was thinking about my up coming boat ride with Ty. Though I'd have to wait a few days for that I could still look forward to Ty coming by Heartland after school.


	6. What went wrong?

**Authors Note**

Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for all the GREAT reviews! There might be a little something with Amy and Ty in this chapter… you just have to read to find out! Though this story is Amy/Ty I cannot write romancey like stuff to save my life but I will try. **Review** and **Enjoy!**

**Question: **Should Ty's parents like or hate Amy? Please answer in a review! It could be like the book where Ty's dad doesn't like her but his mom does or they could both hate her or both like her or his dad could like her but his mom hates her. Or whatever.

I totally killed my last chapter for my other story so fingers crossed this one comes out good.

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke

**&**

**Chapter 5**

_End of school, outside Green Acres Prep, same day (Monday)_

At the end of the day I walked out to the parking lot with Soroya.

"So what are you doing the rest of the day?" She asked me.

"I dunno, just working with the horses, I might take Sunny on the trails," I replied.

"You're so lucky! I wish I lived somewhere where there were tons of horses to ride all the time!" Soroya complained.

I grinned, "You can come over whenever you want to go riding."

"I know, that's the only reason I'm friends with you," she paused and looked at me quizzically, "Didn't you know that?"

I rolled my eyes, "Ha-ha very funny Roya." We both laughed, "You want to come over and go on the trails later?"

She groaned, "I have my piano lesson tonight."

"Kay."

"I'd rather go riding though!"

"Well Heartland's not going anywhere, come by sometime later in the week," I offered.

"Cool," Soroya said as she beeped her car open.

I did the same to my car, gosh it's so cool! I'm now totally obsessed with my car. Maybe I should name it… no that's going a little too far. But hey, people name their boats and airplanes, why not a car?

"Hey Amy!" I heard a voice call out to me. I turned around and saw Ty walking away from his big group of friends and heading towards me.

Soroya noticed too and said, "Have fun!" in a sing-song type of voice.

"Remind me why I'm friends with you again?"

"Because awesome!" she said and grinned, "See ya later!"

"Yeah bye," I said as she jumped into her BMW convertible.

Ty reached me just as Soroya pulled away in her car. I shook my head as she grinned at me.

"Hey, this your car?" Ty asked me and gestured to my red Jeep Liberty.

"Yep, got it yesterday!"

"Awesome, present for winning?"

"No not really, my parents didn't want to bring my car over from England so they said they'd get me a new one," I said for the millionth time that day, not that it really mattered or anything. "So what's up?"

"Oh I was just wondering if you're sure it's okay I stop by Heartland later to talk to your parents about Chief."

"Positive," I answered, "All mum and dad's clients came by earlier in the day."

He looked relieved, "Great."

"So when are you going to come?" I asked trying not to sound too eager or anything… it's not like I was. Eager I mean… cough cough.

"The sooner the better, when's a good time?"

"Well anytime today," I paused and than said, "How bout now?" Than I quickly added, "If you're not busy or anything that is."

Ty smiled and said, "I'm not busy, I'll follow you there okay?"

"Great."

When Ty walked over to his truck which was a few rows away I jumped into mine.

The ride back to Heartland was only about 10 minutes. I kept looking in the rearview mirror to see if Ty was still behind, a few times he smiled and waved back. I did the same though I was glad he couldn't see the blush on my face. I grinned in spite of myself, today had been a VERY good day, though I'm still wondering if Ty actually did ask me out or if I just dreamed that part. I hope it was real…

Similar to Ty's house, or Baldwin Ways I guess, Heartland has its own drive leading up to the main farm, though it's not quite as long at the one at Baldwin Way's. One either side is forest, it's quite beautiful if I do say so myself. At the end of the road the forest turns to paddocks where all different sizes, shapes and colors of horses are basking in the afternoon sun. There are paddocks throughout the whole farm really though. Some of them have big willows or clear blue ponds or streams running through them.

We have 4 different training rings and one indoor arena. There is the main stable block which houses my family's horses. For the horses coming to Heartland for treatment we have one barn for the show horses, one barn for rescues, one barn for the physically injured horses, a smaller one for stallions, and one for horses coming for training or anything else not listed above. Since Heartland occasionally gets a pregnant mare we have a very small stable just for them and a separate stable set way back in the hills if for when horses get sick and they need to be quarantined. For the physically injured horses we have a building that is like a gym for horses, it has one of those special horse pools and basically any horse therapeutic equipment you could think of. My parents' office is located in a separate building and adjacent to it is a small store where we sell Heartland stuff, like shirts, sweatshirts, hats, sweatpants, stickers you name it. Also there are waters, sodas, snacks for people and for horses and basic equestrian equipment such as, brushes, saddle pads, gloves, boots, clothes for the riders, halters, lead ropes, lunge lines, blankets, traveling wraps, medical supplies, grooming boxes, cleaning things, tack covers, bareback pads and the like. There are also a few saddles and bridles in there, nothing fancy though it's just basic training equipment. For the children that are often in here while their parents are doing business there are stuffed animal horses in any style or color imaginable (I must admit I have one of each in my room…), horse collectibles, toys… well you get the idea we have just about everything. (**a/n**: it might sound stupid but I always thought something like this would be really cool!)

My house itself is placed a bit farther back on the property.

I pulled my car into the driveway and Ty stopped behind me. I jumped out and walked over to Ty who was leaning against the door to his car and looking around.

"This place is really great," he commented.

"Yeah it is, but your place isn't too bad either," I told him, "Baldwin Ways has to be _at least_ 5 times bigger than all of this."

He grinned, "I think between the two of us we own enough land to just about equal the size of Rhode Island," he joked.

I laughed with him, "Somehow I think that was exaggerated a little."

"Yeah so where are your parents?"

I looked around the vast property and grimaced, "I actually have no idea," Ty laughed, "What?"

"Just funny that's all."

"Okay well we should check the office first, that's the most obvious place to start," I suggested and we headed off down one of the paths that led to the office.

We walked in a companionable silence for several minutes before I happened to glance at Ty and saw him rubbing his sprained wrist, "Is your arm okay?" I asked worriedly.

"What? Oh yeah its fine, just hurts a little," he looked at me and than said, "I'm fine, really. Its just sprained it's bound to hurt."

I shifted my gaze to straight in front of me, "Well okay," I said quietly.

Ty suddenly stopped walking and grabbed my arm, turning me so that I was facing him, "I'm fine, really I am," he said looking into my face.

I sighed and than mumbled, "I'm just… worried is all," so quietly I didn't know if he ever heard me.

A small smile graced his perfect lips and he said, "You're worried about me?" I guess he heard me after all.

(**a/n**: lol, for this next part my fingers have overruled my brain yet _again_… I'm going to need to do something about this.)

I felt my face flush as I realized how close we were standing and that Ty was still holding my arm. "Well I…" I started to stammer but never got to finish since Ty suddenly leaned down and his lips met my own. I felt his hand leave my arm and settle on the side of my face instead and as if of their own accord my hands moved to rest themselves on Ty's upper arms. The kiss didn't last long but it was perfect. I could already tell that Ty was a great kisser and to make things better he wasn't one of those guys who just tried to stick his tongue in your mouth all the time. The kiss was simple but when Ty broke it I felt my heart pounding as I looked up into his gorgeous face.

Ty smiled softly and gently pushed some of my hair out of my face, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," he said softly.

"You don't have to apologize," I whispered back.

He smiled and leaned back towards me but the moment was broken when I heard Lou call out, "Amy?" My eyes flew open as I jumped away from Ty and saw Lou rounding the bend in the track, "Oh there you are! I thought I saw your car come in," she said when she saw me, "Oh hello Ty."

"Hey Lou," Ty responded in a voice much steadier than any I could have mustered up at that moment.

"So what are you guys doing? You're not exactly dressed for hanging around the horses Amy," Lou motioned to my outfit; I was still wearing my skirt and flip-flops.

When I found my voice I said, "W-we were going to go find mum and dad."

"Really? What for?" Lou asked suspiciously.

"I needed to discuss with them about bringing a horse here," Ty answered.

"Well they're in the office finishing up with a client that rescheduled their morning appointment so we could head down there," I nodded and we started walking towards the office. Lou asked suddenly, "Oh Ty I heard about what happened at the show yesterday, are you okay?"

"Yeah, the doctor just said I had a bad sprain," he lifted his arm up so Lou could see the ACE bandage wrapped around it.

"Oh well that's good, at least you weren't seriously hurt."

"Yeah," Ty said and seemed to be thinking about something, "That's actually what I wanted to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Fleming about."

"Really?"

"Yeah my parents threatened to put my horse, Chief, down but they gave me one chance to try to figure out what happened."

"Oh that's horrible!" Lou exclaimed, "I heard he was acting crazy yesterday, does he do it often?"

"That's just the thing; he's never done it before."

"Well we have plenty of extra stalls," Lou remarked as we opened the door and walked into the office. In the front room was a large white desk, it was one of those desks with all the different parts and had a bunch of different stations (**a/n**: sorry don't know how to explain it but it was in a Pottery Barn catalogue), with a few files on it and a flat screen Apple computer. There were several filing cabinets and on the walls there were cork boards with phone numbers and addresses, pictures of my family and the horses and the farm and various awards that Heartland had won. In front of the desk there were two plush chairs. On one side there were several more chairs and a small table was stacked with magazines.

"They should be done just about now," Lou remarked as she sat down in the leather chair behind the desk.

Sure enough a few seconds later the door to my parents' office opened and they emerged with a man.

When my mom spotted me she said, "Oh Amy hi! Nice to see you again Ty."

"You to Mrs. Baldwin," Ty replied politely.

"This," my dad told the man he had been talking to, "Is my daughter Amy and this is Ty Baldwin. Amy, Ty this is Jason Clarke, he's going to be sending us a horse."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Nice to meet you sir," Ty said as politely as ever, well I guess when your parents are practically billionaires you end up having to learn some manners.

"Same to you," the man said, "I say, are you Ty Baldwin from Baldwin Ways?"

"Yes I am," Ty somewhat proudly.

"I'm looking forward to the races this spring," he commented, "Got any good horses?"

"We have a few two year olds showing champion potential," Ty grinned.

"Well I'll be cheering for your horses when the Triple Crown comes; no doubt you'll take the cup again."

"Well we're trying," Ty said, "Maybe we should let some one else win for a change though."

Jason Clarke laughed, "Well I have to be going," he turned back to my parents and shook each of their hands, "Thank you for seeing me."

"It's not a problem," my dad said.

"Take care and we'll be expecting your horse here sometime on Thursday," my mum said.

"Great, I'll call to confirm the times," Jason Clarke said, "Have a nice day," and with that he proceeded to exit the office.

"So what are you guys doing here?" my mum asked.

"Certainly not riding," my dad grinned and pointed to my outfit and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Actually I needed to talk with you," Ty told them.

"About what?" dad asked.

"Bringing a horse here."

"Really?" my dad asked sounding a bit surprised, "I must say I would have thought you already had someone to take care of that."

"Actually it's about Commander in Chief sir."

"Is he alright?" my mum asked.

"Well he's fine but my parents said that I had one chance to figure out went wrong yesterday or they were going to put him down."

"We should go into the office to talk," my dad suggested and they made their way back into the room my parents had just evacuated.

I sighed knowing full well that my parents never let me listen when they were talking to a client and I knew this wouldn't be an exception. "I'll be here when you're done," I said.

Ty looked around and smiled at me before the door was closed.

I plopped down in a chair, "So do you need any help Lou?" I also knew that Lou would never let me help her with her work. Its not that I couldn't do it, it's just that Lou likes to be in charge of her work and know what's going on so it all gets done the way she wants.

"No I'm okay. Today hasn't been that busy," she commented.

"Just wait until more of the stalls are filled, than you'll have more work," I grinned.

Lou groaned, "I think I can wait for that," but I knew loved doing the work. Lou always kept the business side of Heartland in order and without her were probably wouldn't get the feed deliveries or anything. Lou was basically the staple of Heartland. Like my mum and dad were great but without Lou things would be crazy.

Lou looked up at me from her paper work briefly, "So what was up with you and Ty earlier?"

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly.

"Mmmhmm…" she said disbelievingly.

"What? We were just coming down to find mum and dad."

"Yeah, yeah okay, but I doubt that's all that has happened between you since the last time he was here."

"Are you trying to imply something?"

"I'm not implying anything, just saying…" She trailed off as she got lost in her work.

I swiveled around in the chair and looked out the sliding glass doors. I felt a silly smile slide across my face as I remembered when Ty kissed me.

I picked up the latest Horse Illustrated magazine and started to read while I waited for them to be done talking. Truthfully it was a little hard to concentrate on the words since my head was absorbed with other thoughts.

**&**

_An hour later_

After about 45 minutes I had gotten bored of my magazine, there are only so many times you can read about the thing over and over again. Lou was working so she was no fun. I had to resort to spinning around in my chair for about five minutes before they came out of the office.

When I saw them I said, "Hey," as I quickly stopped spinning only feeling a bit dizzy and light headed, "So what's going on?"

"Commander in Chief is going to be coming here tomorrow afternoon," my dad answered.

I smiled in relief, "Great."

"Well we should get going, there's a horse we have to check on, he's going home tomorrow," my mum said, "What are you guys going to do?"

I shrugged and looked at Ty who said, "I should get going to, you know gotta make sure Chief is still alive and all," only somewhat joking.

I was somewhat disappointed he would be leaving but I said, "I guess I'll go change and than come work with Sunny or some of the other horses."

My mums smiled and said, "Of course, well we'll see you tomorrow Ty."

"Thanks again for letting Chief come," Ty said gratefully.

"It's no problem," my dad said, "Bye," as they walked out of the door and headed back towards the stables.

"We'll have a stall all ready for Chief tomorrow Ty," Lou said looking up from her work.

"Thanks Lou, I should get going."

"Okay well I'll see you tomorrow than," she said.

"Great, see you," Ty said as we walked out of the door and started back towards where his car was.

"I'd stay longer," Ty said, "But truthfully my arm is killing me and I want some of those pain killers the doctor gave me real bad," I noticed that he was rubbing was arm again.

"It's okay," I said, "So what did my parents say?" I asked curiously.

"They just asked me if I knew what happened yesterday and about how Chief normally acts and everything and if I have any idea why he went crazy."

"Oh… so do you? Know why he was acting weird yesterday I mean?"

Ty sighed, "No idea, he _was_ fine when I got him ready that morning and when we arrived at the show."

"Really? When'd he change?"

"Well I took him out of the trailer and tied him outside. My parents had gone to talk to a friend they saw so I went to go sign in and get my number. When I came back he was fine at first but gradually started acting different."

"There might have been something on the ground he ate that upset his stomach," I suggested.

"Maybe," Ty said but looked doubtful.

"Did you get his blood tested?"

"No but by the time we got back to the farm he was fine, just a little jumpy."

"That's weird."

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, "I probably should have gotten his blood tested but by the time we got back it would probably have been too late."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"I know I wasn't supposed to go near him but this morning I got up early and went to check on him," Ty confessed.

"How was he?"

"He was fine, acted just like he always does."

"Maybe something scared him at the show?"

"I've shown Chief all over the United Stated, Mexico and Canada, he's been fine, never freaked out about anything before."

"Oh," I said, it didn't make any sense.

"Well hopefully you can help him," Ty said as we reached his car. He looked pained, "I can't loose him," he said softly.

I felt my heart go out to him, I remembered what it was like when mum and dad had to put my old pony down because he was sick. "I'll try my best, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Ty smiled, "Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he jumped into his truck.

"Yeah bye," I waved as he backed up. Before he swung the truck around he waved and I watched as the back of his car disappeared down the long drive. I was a little disappointed he didn't kiss me again but I still had tomorrow and it made the memory of his first kiss all the more special.

**&**

_Same day, evening_

Ty's POV

"How was your day Ty?" My dad asked me as we all sat done for dinner in the 'family dining area' as my parents' referred to it.

"It was good," I said, "Actually I…" I _was_ going to tell them about how Chief was going to go to Heartland tomorrow but my younger brother, Lee, had to interrupt me. Lee was 14 and was a freshman at GAP (Green Acres Prep).

"That was awesome at school today Ty!"

I groaned and my mom looked at me curiously, "What happened?"

I tried to shrug it off, "Noth…"

But of course Lee wasn't going to, "Ty broke up with Ashley in front of the whole school!"

"Exaggerate much?" I mumbled.

"Oh dear what happened?" my mom sounded concerned.

"I…"

Again Lee interrupted me, "You know that girl at the show yesterday?"

"What girl?" my dad asked.

"Amy something or another…"

Now _I_ interrupted Lee, "Fleming, her last name is Fleming."

"Oh yeah, right, Fleming. So anyway Ashley goes up to her before school and they both looked pissed…"

"Language Lee," mom reprimanded.

"Off," he continues like mom hadn't said anything, "Ty's standing behind them the whole time but they don't notice he's there. Than when that Amy girl starts walking away she bumps… literally… into Ty. Than Ty starts yelling like crazy at Ashley and than drags that other girl behind a tree."

"I did not _drag_ her behind a tree," I said even though I kind of did, "I needed to ask her something."

"You asked her out like 2 minutes after you broke up with Ashley!"

I glared at him but than turned my attention to mom and dad, "Her family owns that horse rehabilitation center, Heartland."

"Ah yes I knew I heard the name 'Fleming' before. Just moved here from England right?"

"Yep."

"Oh yes I've heard of them to. I was talking to the wife of a successful English breeder the other day and she mentioned something about them, said they sent a few horses to them in England. Very good place," mom told us.

"Yeah it's great so…"

"Why did you break up with Ashley?" my mom asked.

"I was sick of her," I answered briefly. I opened my mouth to continue but my dad said,

"Yes I was getting tired of her as well. Good job son," my dad smiled. Okay that was a little weird.

"I thought Ashley was a very nice girl," my mom said, "Came from a good family to."

"Yeah Ty you just dumped the hottest girl in the school!" Lee exclaimed.

"Oh shut up Lee," though I have to say I don't agree with him; Ashley is _not_ the hottest girl in the school. I have to say, Amy looks a whole lot better than Ashley. I wasn't sure if Amy liked me like that but she didn't mind when I kissed her and agreed to go out with me so I hope she likes me.

"And now you're going out with the hot new girl from England!" obviously this was Lee; it would be a little weird if my dad said something like that…

"As I was saying…" I tried again.

"Who?" my dad asked.

"Amy Fleming!" Lee exclaimed.

Oh boy this was an interesting conversation if any of the cooks or maids were listening in.

My thoughts were interrupted when my mom asked, "So did she say yes?"

"Who said yes to what?" I asked stupidly.

"This Amy girl did she…"

"Oh yeah, she said yes, so I…" apparently I was never going to get to tell them about Chief and Heartland.

"Oh that's wonderful!" mom exclaimed, "Where are you taking her?" she asked interestedly.

"I'm taking her on my boat on Saturday," I told her.

"Oh that's lovely! So romantic!" mom grinned.

"So do we get to meet her Ty?" my dad asked.

"Yeah maybe."

"Oh I know!" mom said suddenly. Uh oh I'm sure if I want to know what she's going to say… "You should invite her over for dinner on Friday!" oh yup, there we go.

"Actually I don't…"

"Nonsense, we have to meet the girl Ty," dad said, "I _insist_ you invite her to dinner on Friday night."

I groaned, "But…" I trailed off. It's not like I don't want Amy to meet my parents it's just that I just asked her out today and 'technically' we weren't even going out yet and my parents can be pretty intimidating. We're the high and mighty Baldwin's bow down before us… blah blah blah.

"Wonderful, so it's settled?" my mom asked.

"I'll ask her," I said reluctantly.

"So did you want to tell us something?" my dad asked me.

"Yeah it's about Chief."

"What about him?" my dad asked.

"I'm taking him to Heartland tomorrow," I told them.

"Oh Brad!" my mom exclaimed to my dad, "That animal is dangerous! Why are you letting him stay?"

"Relax Elizabeth," my dad said. By the way, my mom's name is Elizabeth.

"But Ty could have been killed yesterday!"

"Mom I'm _fine_ and it's not like you haven't seen horses go crazy before."

"It's different when it's your son on the horse!"

I sighed, "I know mom but something happened to Chief, he's never done anything like that before."

"I suppose you're right."

"Commander in Chief is a magnificent animal and it would be a shame to have to put him down, he deserves another chance," my dad said, "Besides he's important to Ty."

"Well Ty is a Baldwin, I guess we raised him right," my mom laughed lightly.

"Exactly so if you think taking Chief to Heartland is the right thing to do than I say go for it," my dad said.

I nearly sighed in relief, "Thanks guys."

After dinner I snuck out to the stables to visit Chief. When I entered the grand, dimly lit stable reserved for my family's horses I headed right to Chief's stall.

When Chief saw me he whinnied and stuck his huge, elegant bay head over the stall door.

"Hey buddy," I said softly to him, "I brought you a treat."

Chief bobbed his head up and down and than snorted. I laughed as he nudged my hands, "Oh alright you big greedy horse," I put an apple on my flat palm and Chief eagerly took it. As he chewed it and some of the apple juice foamed around his lips.

I rubbed the white star on his forehead, "There's nothing wrong with you is there boy?"

Chief snorted like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But you've never done anything like that either," I mussed. I looked into his big brown eyes as I said, "So what went wrong?"

**A/n**: Review and answer my question at the top!


	7. Dude!

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for all the reviews! Now for that question… I would make both of Ty's parents like love Amy but I love drama and so that will just not work out… I took parts from a bunch of your suggestions but basically it's going to be like this: Brad likes her, Elizabeth hates her and Lee loves her ;-) **Enjoy** and **review**!

You're lucky it snowed tons last night or else you wouldn't get an update till like Wednesday! I hate the snow, my mom made me shovel the steps and I've never had to shovel snow before in my life! It sucks.

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**!#$&**

**Chapter 6**

Ty's POV

_Next day, Heartland_

"Dude!" Lee exclaimed from next to me as we pulled into Heartland. Lee had insisted he come with me, why I do not know.

"What?" I asked and glanced over at him. He was staring straight ahead and his mouth was hanging open slightly.

"Dude!" he said again as I pulled the pickup into a parking area in front of the stables.

"What?" I asked again.

"Dude, is that Amy?" he pointed through the windshield.

I looked at where he was pointing and saw Amy approaching, how did she always manage to look _that_ good? I mean she was wearing a maroon sweatshirt that had 'Heartland' in white letters outlined in black on the front, jeans and her black, leather boots and half chaps on and her long hair was in a loose ponytail. She was leading Sundance on a lead line held loosely behind her. "Yeah that's her," I said in response to Lee's question, "Why?"

"Dude," what's up with Lee and the word 'dude'? "How do you always get the hot ones? She's better than Ashley!" I laughed and as I jumped out of the truck he said, "Hot girls with horses, it's like my dream come true!" and he got out too.

"Hey!" Amy called out as she reached us. She looked at Lee quizzically.

"Hey Amy. This is my brother Lee," I introduced her and she lifted a hand in greeting and smiled, "And Lee this is Amy."

"Hey, how's it goin'?" Lee said in a voice that I think was him trying to sound seductive. I had to cover my laugh up as a cough.

"Everything's good," Amy told Lee but when he turned around she raised an eyebrow questioningly at me. I just shook my head.

"I'm just going to go and put Sunny back in his stall and than I'll come show you where Chief's stall is going to be, kay?"

"I'll help you!" Lee said eagerly and made to follow Amy but I reached out a hand and pulled him backwards by the hood on his sweatshirt.

"I don't think so," I said, "You're helping me with Chief, that's why you're here," I reminded him.

Amy smiled before she led Sunny over to one of the stables.

"Come on," I said to Lee as I walked to the back of the trailer, "Help me with this," I motioned to the ramp.

Lee pouted as he helped me lower the ramp to the ground, I could have done it by myself but I only had one hand to use which would have made matters a bit more challenging.

"Try not to hit on her too much," I told him, "She's older than you."

"So? I like older women and you're just jealous because she probably likes younger men better to!"

I laughed, "Don't you have a girlfriend already?"

"Katie?" I nodded, "Nope we broke up."

"Oh," I said before disappearing through the door on the side of the trailer. Chief snorted and pricked his ears forward, "No boy we're not going to a show, you're going to stay here for a while," I told him softly. I untied him and than slowly led him down the ramp. When we were on the blacktop Chief raised his head and looked around.

"Is he okay?" Amy asked as she rejoined us a minute latter.

"Yeah he's great," I said, "Probably thinks we're going to a show," I laughed.

Amy laughed to, "Yeah Sunny's the same way. Well I'll show you where his stall is going to be and than I'll help you get all of his stuff," she motioned for me to follow.

She led us to one of the barns and said, "This is the barn we keep all of the show or very valuable horses coming to us in. And here," she said as she stopped in front of an empty stall, "Is where Chief will be staying," she opened the stall door wide and I led Chief in.

After I unclipped his lead rope I backed out of the stall and shut the door, sliding the brass latch into place. I leaned against the door and watched as Chief explored his new stall.

Amy came up and leaned against the door next to me, "I hope I can help him," she said softly.

I looked down at her and smiled, "I'm sure you will," she didn't notice I was watching her. She just kept watching Chief, a look of concentration on her face.

"Hey Amy!" she stood up as a boys voice cut through the silence.

I turned around and recognized it as Amy's brother from the day I met her and when I'd been over here and went riding.

"Hey Al what's up?" she asked.

Her brother, Alex, walked up to Chief's stall and looked in.

"Is this the new horse?"

"Yep, this is Commander in Chief, he's Ty's horse. You remember Ty right?"

Alex turned to face me and a grin spread over his boyish features, "Oh right, hey Ty!"

"Hey Alex," I greeted the boy (**a/n**: I changed Alex's age from 8 to 12).

"You've got some nice horses in here," Lee said appreciatively and I saw him looking into each of the horses' stalls, "Are these all you've got?"

"Thanks and no," Amy answered, "As I said before, these are only the show horses that come to Heartland. We have other stables for the others."

Lee walked over to us and eyed Alex, "Who's that?"

"This is my brother Alex, Alex this is Ty's brother, Lee," Amy introduced them.

"Hi," Alex said.

"Hey," Lee replied.

"Hey Alex why don't you go show Lee around the rest of the place while I help Ty with Chief's things," Amy suggested.

"Sure," Alex readily agreed.

"But…" Lee tried.

"Go," I said firmly and Lee sulked off behind Alex.

"I think my brother likes you," I laughed after the barn door closed behind the two retreating figures.

"Who doesn't?" Amy said and laughed, "Why don't we get Chief's stuff and I'll show you where to put it," she suggested.

"Okay," I said and than I remembered, "Wait, I have to take of his travel wraps," I said as I opened the stall door and walked over to Chief.

"Oh yeah, right. I'll help you," she said and followed me into the stall.

I took off his dark green travel blanket that had the Baldwin Way's crest on it and Chief's full name under it while Amy worked on his leg wraps. After I was done I hung the blanket over the door and bent down to take off the last leg wrap.

I placed the leg wrap next to the other three and than turned back to Amy who was stroking Chief's head. He was holding his head contentedly by her chest and she had one arm hooked under his neck and was lightly holding onto the top of his neck and her other hand was stroking a gentle path from the top of his white star to his silky muzzle.

I grinned and said, "He likes you."

Amy looked up at me and smiled softly, "Well I'm glad, I like him to," she replied.

I walked over to her so that I was standing directly in front of her, only about a foot away I might add. I let my green eyes meet her gray ones, her eyes are amazing, they have a dark gray ring around them and are filled in with a lighter, smoky gray color. I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me so that I could feel her chest pressed against mine and her arms snaked around my neck. I leaned my head down and let my lips mold themselves to hers. I ran my tongue across her bottom lip before allowing myself to explore the inside of her mouth, she did the same. I felt her fingers running threw my hair and I was running my hands up and down her back, I felt Amy moan inside of my mouth and I smiled against her lips.

After a minute or so I reluctantly pulled back and breathing heavily I leaned my forehead against Amy's, who was breathing equally as hard.

"We should go get Chief's stuff," I said hoarsely.

"Yeah," Amy agreed.

I took her hand and led her out of the stall and back up to my truck. I opened the door to where there was a small tack room.

"So what did you bring?" Amy asked me.

I stepped into the small room and grabbed three identical dark green blankets that both had Baldwin Way's crest and Chief's name on them. I handed them out to Amy, "His winter blanket, a water proof one and a cooler. Hold on," I handed them to her and after a moment of searching located the dark green blanket bag that was embroidered the same way as the blankets were, "Here," I said handing out to Amy, "You can put them in here."

"Okay," she said as she accepted the bag and went to work folding the blankets up.

I dropped another two dark green bags that was again embroidered the same way as the others down next to her, "Saddle pads and leg wraps," I said, "Do you need his grooming kit?" I asked.

Amy looked up at me, "No we've got tons of that stuff here."

"Okay," I said before picking up my saddle, girth and bridle, they all had cases that were the same as the others. I jumped out of the trailer and slung the bridle case over the saddle so I could close the trailers door. Carefully because of my arm and all which was again beginning to hurt again, I guess the pain killers were wearing off.

"I think that's it," I said looking at all of the dark green bags, "Yep I've got everything," I confirmed once I was sure nothing was forgotten.

"You brought a lot," Amy remarked.

I grinned, "Well what did you expect? This is Commander in Chief from Baldwin Way's, he travels in style," I joked.

Amy laughed, "Of course, so there's a tack room in every stable," she informed as we walked back to the barn Chief was in. She led me down the barns aisle and into a big tack room. "So Chief's stuff is going to go over there," she said after a moment of looking around.

I looked over to where she was pointing and saw a saddle rack, hook and a trunk under it. Above them was a plaque that read 'Commander in Chief' in big fancy letters.

I looked at Amy questioningly and she just shrugged and said, "It was Lou's idea, she likes everything to be neat and organized."

I put my saddle on the rack, hung the bridle and girth on the hook and fit all the other stuff into the trunk.

"Hold on," Amy said and ran out of the room while I was putting the last thing in the trunk. A minute latter she returned with Chief's travel wraps. I put those in the trunk to.

We walked back to Chief's stall and watched him as he chomped contentedly on a bale of hay.

"So what did your parents say about Chief coming here?" Amy asked eventually.

Oh yeah, my parents, that reminds me, "They were okay with it," well that was almost the truth. My dad thought it was a good idea but last night my mom was trying to talk me out of it.

"That's good," Amy said sounding relieved.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure go ahead."

"Well," I said stretching the word out, "My mom and dad wanted me to invite you over for dinner on Friday night," I said hesitantly.

Amy stood up and looked at me, "Oh… really?" she looked a little shocked.

"Yeah, Lee goes to GAP and told them about what happened with Ashley and everything and than they said you had to come over for dinner."

"Um okay," she said unsurely.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'll come."

"Because if you can't come its okay," I tried.

Amy laughed lightly, "Do you not want me to meet your parents?"

"No it's not that it's just that my parents can be a little… intimidating," I said slowly.

"Well I think I'll survive and besides you've met my parents."

"Well if you're sure."

"What? Do you think your parents will like hate me or something?" she questioned.

"No they'll love you," I half lied. I knew my dad would like her I just wasn't so sure about my mom. "So you'll come?"

"Yeah, I'll come," she answered and smiled a little.

"Great, well they'll be happy," I said.

"So what do I wear?" Amy asked suddenly.

"What?"

She laughed, "I mean do I have to dress up or anything?"

"Uh," I paused to think for a minute, "I guess something nice but not really nice."

"Okay so like…" she trailed off.

"Well my mom will probably be wearing one of those skirt suit things and my dad will most likely be wearing a pair or khakis and a button down," I said from experience since this was basically what they always wore when we had someone over for dinner.

"Okay I get it," Amy said, "So what time should I come?" she inquired.

"I'll pick you up at 6:30," I told her remembering the time my mom had told me.

"Oh I can drive myself if…"

"No it's okay, I'll come pick you up," I laughed.

Amy smiled at me and said, "Okay great, so 6:30 on Friday night?"

"Right," I confirmed than I said in a softer voice, "Hey thanks for doing this."

"It's no problem I want to meet your parents anyway."

"That's great but that's not what I was talking about."

"Oh?"

"I meant thanks for taking Chief," I said sincerely.

"I already told you it was no problem," she tried to shrug it off.

"Well still, thanks."

Amy looked up at me and smiled softly before turning her gaze back to Chief, "I just hope I can help him," she said softly.

"I bet you can," I encouraged her.

"Thanks but you can't always help a horse if they don't want to be helped."

"Chief isn't like that," I said right as Chief picked up a chunk of hay in his mouth and tossed it up into the air and it rained down over his head. When all the hay settled on his head he made a noise that sounded almost exactly like a laugh before shaking his head around to get all the hay off. I started to laugh really hard and so did Amy. She ended up leaning against me and I put an arm around her shoulders, "Like I said, Chief's not like that," I said still laughing pretty hard.

"Yeah I guess he isn't," Amy agreed. Once our laughing quieted down a bit she said, "I know you can't always tell if a horse has a problem just by looking at him but I would never have even guessed Chief had a problem."

"Me neither, he doesn't act like it either."

"So was it was just that one time at the show on Sunday and than he was fine?"

"Exactly, he's been fine since. Granted I haven't ridden him sense than but…"

Amy interrupted me, "Do you think there could be something wrong with his back?"

"It's possible," I said, "Though he was fine when I groomed him before and didn't even move when I put on his blankets. You should get on him tomorrow and see how he goes," I suggested.

"Maybe…" Amy said softly.

"I think you'd look great on him," I said and playfully nudged her in the side.

"Ya think?"

"I'm positive. And besides Chief likes you so much already… he might just hate now and that's why he bucked me off," I joked.

Amy grinned and shook her head, "Somehow I doubt it, Chief loves you more than anyone else."

"What can I say?" I tried to say as innocently as I could.

Amy laughed and leaned back against my chest. I curved an arm around her waist and we just stood and watched Chief for a few minutes. It was really quiet and peaceful, with just the sounds of horses snorting or munching contentedly on their hay.

The moment was broken however when Alex and Lee came laughing and banging into the stable.

I let my arm fall from around Amy's waist as she stood back up and turned to face the two newcomers, "So you saw the whole place?" she asked Lee.

Lee grinned and replied, "Yeah, its great."

"Glad you liked it," Amy smiled softly.

"Hey Ty," Lee said to me, "Shouldn't we get going?"

I looked at my watch and noticed that it was a quarter to 5. Dad wanted us back at five so we could watch one of our two year olds run. Dad said that Baldwin Prince, the two year old, was his favorite out of all the two year olds in our barn and the most likely to make it into the Triple Crown races the next year. I have to agree Baldwin Prince was a fine looking animal. He was pure thoroughbred, sired by Make Way For The King, one of our horses who won the Triple Crown a few years back, and was out of Little Woman, the first filly to ever win the Triple Crown so he had impeccable bloodlines. Baldwin Prince was already standing at just over 17 hands high and expected to grow more yet; he was well built and muscular. Prince had inherited his sires black coating and was a sleek, jet black allover except for a stripe of white running horizontally across his forehead that looked just like a crown, resulting in his name being made Baldwin Prince.

"Oh yeah we should get going," I turned to Amy and said, "Dad wants us to watch on of our horses run."

"Cool," she said.

I stepped back in front of Chief's stall and whistled. His head popped up from where it had been in the hay and he walked over to me. I rubbed the area between his eyes affectionately, "Be good Chief."

Chief snorted as if to say, "Am I ever anything but?"

I laughed, "Yeah yeah I know, I'll come visit you later," he butted his head into my side, "See ya later buddy," I said, giving him a final pat on the neck before turning to follow Amy and Alex out of the barn.

Lee was walking next to me and I noticed that he was looking straight ahead but his gaze was fixed a little too low on Amy's back for my liking. I picked my arm up and hit sharply him in the back of his head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as his head went forwards, "What was that for?"

I noticed Amy look at us questioningly over her shoulder so I said, "You know what. You should keep you eyes higher or you might fall."

I noticed Amy blush as she got the meaning of my words and she quickly turned back around.

When we got back to the truck Lee immediately jumped into the passenger side and I went around the trailer to make sure the ramp was securely bolted in place. When that was done I opened my door before turning back to Amy, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Yeah, you should come by here tomorrow after school tomorrow. You know, to see Chief," she added quickly.

I grinned and said, "Are you going to ride him?"

She smiled back and said, "You never know, I might."

"Well if I'm not busy tomorrow I'll defiantly stop by," Amy nodded, "And if not tomorrow the next day."

"Great so…"

"Ty!" Lee's voice came from the inside of the truck cutting Amy off, "Hurry up! Dad's going to get mad at us if we're late!"

"Coming," I sighed.

"Well you should get going," Amy told me.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

I jumped into the truck and slammed the door shut. Amy stepped back as I backed the truck up. I waved before I turned the truck around slowly.

About 10 minutes later we arrived back at Baldwin Ways. I parked the truck and trailer in the area where all our other trailers were located before walking down to the one mile track with Lee.

We arrived just in time to see Baldwin Prince walking calmly through the gates onto the track. Once out on the track the jockey perched over his withers and nudged him into a trot.

Dad turned around and saw us. He waved and yelled out, "Oh good you're just in time to watch Prince run!"

**A/n: **It's kind of short but I hope you liked it! Review!


	8. Trial 1 fails

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for all the **_GREAT_** reviews! Well I won't be able to update for a week or so because I'm going to my Grandma's house in Detroit and she does not have a computer… how does she survive? My laptops like my staple in life… oh well. **Enjoy** and **review**!

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**!#$&**

**Chapter 7**

Amy's POV 

_Same day, Tuesday (I'm pretty sure)_

I waved goodbye to Ty as he turned the truck around and drove off down the long drive. Once the back of the gleaming white trailer had disappeared from view I turned and walked back to the barn, the one Chief was in I mean.

When I walked into the barn I immediately saw Chief's bug, elegant, bay head sticking over his stall door. He had his ears pricked forward and was staring in the direction on the barns doors.

When he saw me he whinnied and bobbed his head up and down.

"Hey buddy," I said softly as I approached. I rubbed his forehead gently.

Chief craned his head over my shoulder and continued looking at the big, double doors, the doors his much loved owned had just disappeared through.

I sighed, "I know, I know, you miss Ty. You've never been without him before _and_ you're in a new stable where you don't know anyone."

Chief dropped his head back to my level and peered at me through his big, brown eyes.

"You want to go home," Chief snorted, "Well the sooner I find out what's wrong with you than the sooner you can go back home."

Chief snorted again; if he had been human I'm betting it would have been in indignation.

"Hmm you don't think there's anything wrong with you?" I know I know, I'm having a conversation with a horse, truth is they listen better than most people do.

Chief shook his head and snorted again, and see? He understands me to!

"Well than why did you buck Ty off? He could have been really hurt."

Chief shook his head.

"Even if you didn't mean to do it," I quickly added, "Maybe you hurt your back? Or ate something that upset your stomach?" I mussed to myself, "Well I'm going to go work with some of the other horses and leave to settle in. We'll see what's what tomorrow."

When I was about halfway between Chief's stall and the barn doors I heard him whinny behind me. I turned around and saw him watching me, when he noticed I was watching him he bobbed his head up and down causing his silky mane to bounce against him neck and the forelock to continuously hit him on the forehead. I laughed before continuing out of the barn.

I secretly wondered if there was actually something wrong with him. But I promised Ty I'd help him and that's what I intended to do. I'll just have to see if any of my _faint_ suspicions were correct when I rode him tomorrow. After all, I am Chief's last hope and I won't let anything happen to Chief, he means too much to Ty.

**!#$&**

_Next day, Green Acres Prep_

I had just arrived at school and was, as per the usual, making my way over to 'The Big Tree' where my friends were already standing and gesturing for me to hurry up.

As I walked across the lawn I saw Ty surrounded by a big group of people, when he saw me he smiled and waved. I waved back but continued walking over to my friends, not too anxious to be in the middle of all those people. No thank you, I'll pass on that one. I saw him say something to the group of people and pushed his way out of the circle. Now he was walking towards me so I stopped and waited for him to reach my side.

"Hey," he said as he came and stood next to me, "What's up? How's Chief?" he added quickly.

"Ha-ha, of course your worried about the horse," I rolled my eyes at him, "Chief is fine, great actually. He's all settled in."

Ty looked relived, "Good, that's good."

"Yes it is, so I was planning on riding him later," I said casually.

"Really?"

"Well if it's okay with you," I said quickly.

"He's at your farm, you're caring for him you don't have to ask me if you can ride him," Ty grinned.

"Oh right, yeah," I looked up at him and than said, "Well it _is_ Commander in Chief, you're probably like the only one who's ever ridden him and he's this great horse, it's just a little weird to be able to ride him whenever I want."

Ty laughed and than said, "So you're definitely going to ride him later than?"

"Well I'm going to lunge him first just to see if he's stiff or if it could be a problem with his back or with any of his joints but if he's okay than I'm going to ride him. Just put him through his paces today probably," I informed him.

"Well I'll come by later to watch you ride him."

"Okay great, but don't you have football practice? You know for the game next week?"

Ty picked up the arm that was wrapped in the ACE bandage, "Coach let me off for a few days."

"But aren't you the kicker?" I asked confused, "You don't even use you hands…"

"Just one of the many perks of being a Baldwin," Ty said.

"Oh of course," I laughed and rolled my eyes again.

"So you're coming, aren't you?" Ty asked me suddenly.

"Am I coming where?" I asked confused again.

"To our next game."

"Oh right, when is it?" I asked.

"Sunday," Ty answered.

"Sunday? Yeah I think I'm free, what time is it?"

"It's the afternoon, at 1 I think."

"Oh okay," I said, "Yeah I'll come, the last game was fun."

"So you like football?" Ty asked me interestedly.

"Yes actually, it was exciting."

"Yeah it is," Ty agreed, "So I'll pick you up at noon on Sunday?"

"I can drive myself or come with one of my friends, you're driving me everywhere else already, I can…"

"I want to drive you, it will be fun, and you can tell me what you thought about the game. I didn't get to see you after the last one so this will make up for it."

"That's cause you were with Ashley," I mumbled.

Apparently Ty heard me though, "Yes well I'm not now am I? Now I'm with you."

I have to say those 4 simple words made me grin, "Hmm I guess you are aren't you?" I joked with him, "Lucky you."

Ty smiled and shook his head, "So you'll let me take you?"

"Yeah if you're sure it's not a problem."

"Positive, great this will be fun." Ty paused and than said, "Hey we're spending all weekend together."

"Oh yeah we are!" I said, "Friday is dinner with your parents…"

"Saturday I'm taking you on my sailboat and Sunday is the football game," Ty finished for me, "Friday night dinner will probably be the worst part," he said thoughtfully.

"Why? Your parents can't be _that_ bad," I reasoned.

"Well," Ty said slowly, stretching out the word, "I hope they'll be okay but we'll see I guess," Ty caught a look of my face and said, "Don't worry about it, they'll love you," he assured me.

"I hope so," I said thoughtfully.

"They _will_," Ty said firmly.

"I should get going," I said with a look over at 'The Big Tree' where my friends were watching us.

I made to turn around but Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me back around with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Wha…" I began to say but was cut off when Ty's lips met mine. _That_ successfully shut me up.

When Ty broke the kiss off he grinned down at me, "Did you really think you could leave, just like that?"

"What was I _thinking_?" I said good humouredly.

"I have no idea," Ty laughed, "So I'll see you later? At Heartland right?"

"Yeah at Heartland. Later," I told him as he turned around and started to walk off. I could not resist the urge to call out behind him, "Let me know if it ever happens again!"

Ty whipped back around and grinned widely as he immediately understood the meaning of my words, "Don't worry," he called back, "I'll make sure it _never_ happens again!"

And with that I walked over to my friends with a silly grin on my face.

**!#$&**

_Later that day, Heartland_

"I just have to go change," I told Ty as he got out of his truck, "And than we can go get Chief ready, you can go see him while I get changed," I suggested.

"Okay great," Ty smiled, clearly relived at the thought of getting to see his horse.

"You remember what stable it is right?" I asked hopefully because the truth is that I still get them mixed up sometimes, there are so many different ones and we've only lived her for about a month. But someday I will get them all down. Hopefully that day comes sooner, rather than later.

"I think," Ty answered slowly, than he looked at me and smiled, "But I'm sure there's someone I can ask?"

"Oh yeah defiantly."

"Maybe I can ask that stable hand of yours, you said you had one named Ty didn't you?"

I groaned as I remembered the first time he had come to Heartland, "I wasn't paying attention! Sorry! Jeeze I…"

Ty cut me off when he placed a finger across my lips, "You're cute when you're mad," he said simply.

"I'm not mad," I said indignantly.

Ty laughed, I liked his laugh, I could listen to it all day and still not be tired of it.

"So I'll meet you in the barn in 5 minutes?"

"Yeah sure," Ty agreed and started walking down to the barns.

I went inside and quickly put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and got my boots, half chaps and GPA training helmet from downstairs before I went outside to join Ty in the barn.

I didn't see him when I walked into the barn so I walked up to Chief's stall. He was standing in the stall petting Chief affectionately and talking softly to him. Chief looked pretty darn content to.

"Chief missed you," I commented as I leaned against the stall door.

Ty turned his head to look at me, "Was he okay last night though?" he asked with a little concern.

"Yeah," I replied, "He was great. He kept looking in the direction of the doors for a little while after you left but once the evening feeds came along he was fine."

Ty sighed, "Well what can I say? He likes his food," he said as he let himself out of the stall, "Here; I'll help you get his tack and stuff."

"Great," I said as Ty followed me into the tack room. Soon we had everything we needed, Chief's saddle, bridle, girth, saddle pads and lunge line. "We don't need to groom him right now," I said as Ty started to pickup one of the grooming buckets, "Someone would have done that already."

"Okay," Ty said as he put the bucket back down and stood up.

Once we were back at the stall I put the saddle and saddle pads on the saddle rack and Ty hung the girth and bridle from the hook on the wall. I went into the stall and led Chief out where Ty quickly clipped the cross ties onto his halter.

I put on his bridle while Ty started on his saddle. When I was done with his bridle I bent down and pulled his girth under his stomach and fastened it on the other side. Once I made sure the stirrups were securely pulled up I looked over Chief's tall back as best as I could and commented, "He didn't even move when we put on the saddle," to Ty.

"I know," Ty said looking deep in thought.

"Well," I continued, "I guess we'll have to see how it goes when he's moving. Maybe it only hurts him when he stretches out his back muscles?"

"Maybe," Ty agreed, "Let's go."

I clipped the lunge line onto his bridle and we headed out of the stable towards a medium sized ring that was not currently being occupied. It didn't have any jumps in the center so it was clear and we could use the whole ring for lunging without worrying about getting the line twisted on a jump stand or anything.

I walked into the center of the ring with Chief while Ty leaned against the fence and watched us.

"Go," I told Chief clearly and he immediately walked out to the rail. After two laps I called out, "And turn!" Chief immediately turned and started in the opposite direction. After two more laps I called out the command, "Trot!" Chief broke into an even paced trot. He looked a little excited though, as he hadn't any exercise for the past few days, so I waited until he calmed down and collected himself. He arched his neck and used his powerful haunches to push himself forward with a springy step. I could see the muscles rippling beneath his satiny bay coat. "Turn!" I ordered again and Chief quickly and agilely spun on his hunches without breaking his pace and started trotting the other way. I frowned; clearly there was no problem with his back. But nevertheless I continued the lunging session and after a few circuits I gave the order to, "Canter!" Chief picked up a smooth and collected canter and seemed to almost float across the ground. "And trot!" I called after a minute. Chief settled back into an energetic trot almost immediately. "And walk!" Chief slowed his pace to walk. "Halt!" I called out and Chief stopped stilly and squarely on the ground, keeping his neck arched beautifully all the while. "Trot!" I called out and Chief effortlessly picked up his trot from the halt. "And turn!" Again Chief spun agilely around on his hunches and set off in the opposite direction. "Halt!" I cried and yet again Chief stopped perfectly, "Canter," I called out and Chief picked up a perfect canter from a halt. "And trot," after Chief had returned to his trot, "And walk," I told him and finally I gave the last command of, "And halt."

I walked over to Chief and coiled the excess lunge line back up into my hand. I led Chief over to where Ty was standing at the fence.

"So?" Ty asked once I reached him looking at me expectantly.

I sighed, "What do you think?"

"I think he looked perfect, exactly like he always does," Ty said with a slight frown.

"Well I can't say what he always goes like since I've only seen you ride him like twice but all I could tell from watching him now is that he is perfectly trained, has beautiful paces and fluid movements and seems happy to follow orders and that there is _seemingly_ no part of him that was causing him any sort of pain whatsoever. Other than that…" I trailed off.

"So there's nothing wrong with his back than?" Ty asked.

"Well," I said unsurely, "It's possible that it would only hurt when pressure is applied to the area in question, for example when you sit on his back."

"Well get on him than, let's see," Ty urged.

"Okay," I quickly agreed and unclipped the lunge line from Chief's bridle and handed it to Ty. I made sure the stirrups were a good length for me; I had to shorten them a lot because Ty was at least five inches taller than me, and than I slowly and carefully mounted onto his back. I carefully settled my weight down into the saddle and waited for a minute to see what Chief was going to do. He didn't even move, all he did was flick an ear back as I got on and after a minute of just standing there he snorted impatiently, clearly more than ready to get moving again.

Chief began to walk forwards with just the slightest touch from my legs and a shift in my seat, I was right, he was trained really, really, _really_ well. After I was sure Chief was comfortable and not hurting at the walk I got him to move willingly into a trot. First I posted but after a lap or two around the ring I tried a sitting trot, I had felt sure that if there was a problem with Chief's back than the sitting trot would have been what made him react to it… I got nothing as I settled into the smooth gate effortlessly, he just kept up that same even and flowing pace and had one ear pricked back, listening for my command. In a corner at the top of the ring I applied the tiniest bit of pressure with my outside leg and Chief picked up a canter. Wow, his gates are amazing; I could _so_ learn to live with this.

Once I decided the brief workout was over I slowed Chief back to a walk and walked him back over to where Ty was watching. He looked questioningly up into my face and I said, "Well one thing's for sure, there is definitely nothing wrong with his back."

"So what do we do now?" Ty asked me.

"Now we wait, continue to give him workouts everyday and see if something happens."

"And if nothing happens?"

"Let's hope for everyone's sake that I find out what is wrong with his and soon. And if _nothing_ happens after a few weeks than… that I don't know."

**A/n: **I know it's _really_ short and not my best chapter, sorry I was just trying to get it done. Well anyway, the next chapter is going to be called "The Weekend" so that will be fun. Hope you enjoyed it, **Review**! Oh and if you want to guess what's wrong with Chief feel free to guess! There will be more insight to that in a few chapters!


	9. The pep rally

**Author's Note**

Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry it took so long to update, I got carried away with my other story since it's just getting to the good part. So anyway this chapter doesn't really affect the outcome of this story or anything, basically it's a filler, but a very entertaining one… I hope. **Enjoy** and **review**! Oh and I'll update again by Sunday to make up for the long time I didn't, this stories about to get to the good parts to!

**Note: **I don't think I said this before but Ashley is going to be a cheerleader so if anything in the other chapters does not fit with that than ignore it or do what ever you want to it.

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**!#$&**

**Chapter 8**

_Friday, Green Acres Prep, before classes start_

I've continued working with Chief these past few days but he's been fine. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero, well you get the point. I've lunged him, ridden him, switched his saddles, had the vet and chiropractor look at his back and used a bunch of the herbal remedies that Heartland is known for on him.

I don't know what to do anymore! It's like there's nothing wrong him! He's the perfect horse! It's driving me crazy! Heh… listen to me, bet you never heard someone complain about how perfect a horse is before.

This morning I had gotten up extra early to spend more time with Chief and had totally lost track of the time. I had had like five minutes, literally, to shower and get dressed so consequently I wouldn't be winning awards for 'best dressed' today in my faded jeans, converse sneakers and maroon Heartland hoodie. Oh well, whatever.

I was walking across the expansive green lawn as fast as I could without actually running to get to my friends. And for probably the millionth day in a row I was late… oops, my bad.

I had almost reached them when I felt someone grab a hold of my arm and spin me around.

I think I may have let out a little screech… "Wha…" I started to say but stopped when I was met with Ty's grinning face. "Okay that was not funny!" I exclaimed 'indignantly' as he started to laugh.

"If you could have just seen your face!" he said between laughs.

I crossed my arms over my chest and patiently waited for him to stop laughing. It wasn't _that_ funny… was it?

"Sorry, sorry," Ty said still snickering. "So how's Chief?"

I groaned exaggeratedly, "It's always about the horse!" I said as I threw my hands into the air.

Ty grinned at me mischievously and before I could comprehend what was happening he had slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him, closely and was kissing me.

He only pulled back when one of Ty's many friends, I think it was one of the guys from the football team, yelled out, "Go Ty!" which was followed by some hoots from the rest of the team.

I'm taking it that Ty just chose to ignore this because all he said was, "Tell me about my horse now?" he said making a _very_ exaggerated puppy dog face at me, "Please?"

Now it was my turn to laugh because it was _so_ stupid, "Chief is fine, perfect really. In fact, it's his fault I'm dressed like this today."

Ty looked me up and down before he met my eyes again, his emerald green eyes sparkling. "You look cute," he said simply.

I snorted, "You don't need to lie."

"I'm not… so you haven't found out what might have been wrong with Chief?"

"No," I sighed. "It's like there's nothing wrong with him he's the perfect horse. He's trained perfectly, has perfect stable manners, he's just all around perfect."

"Yeah," Ty agreed with me, "Maybe he just doesn't like me anymore?" he said with a hint of joking in his voice.

"Yeah right, you're like his favorite person! Everyday when I go to the barn to see him he still looks around for you," I reported.

Ty grinned and said, "Well than what? I mean if he is being fine and doing nothing wrong than what do we do?"

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe it was just something he ate off the ground? Did you notice him chewing or anything?"

"No," Ty responded, "He normally only grazes in his pasture. I didn't see him eating anything but maybe when I was getting my number he ate something off the ground?"

"Maybe," I agreed. "But it's too late to tell anything like that now." As an after thought I added, "Maybe you could try riding him?"

"Really?" Ty asked, his eyes lighting up. "Can you do that?"

"Well I'm the one primarily treating Chief so it is my decision on how to treat him and I think he's perfect and… wait. Have you checked out the saddle you rode him with at the show? Maybe it was pinching him?"

"He's never had a problem with it before, it is pretty new though. I have a ton of different saddles but they're all top quality, you know. What, with it being Baldwin Ways and all."

"Yeah it's the same at Heartland. Well I guess you should bring the saddle over to Heartland and you can get on him and see how he goes."

"Great! So what day?" Ty asked me.

"Oh um…" I said thinking over my schedule for the next couple of days. "How about Monday? After school."

Ty thought about it for a moment before replying, "Okay that's great."

"Great so…" I started.

I was cut off, however, by one of the guys from the football team calling to Ty, "Hey Ty?"

Ty turned to face him, "What?" he yelled back.

"Come on!" Another one of the guys yelled. I swear it was like the whole football team was just _standing_ there and if you don't know how big a football team is than let me tell you… well I actually don't know how many people there were really but I don know there were a lot!

"We're gonna be late!" Another yelled.

"Oh right, I forgot," Ty said turning back to face me after holding up a finger to his team to say '1 minute'. "We've got the pep rally for the game on Sunday this morning and coach wants us in our uniforms."

"Oh right," I remembered.

"So if I don't see you I'll pick you up at 6:30 tonight," he told me.

"Yeah great. You should probably go," I said with a glance over to the football team who were all waiting impatiently for Ty.

Ty looked over at them, "Yeah. See you later."

"Bye," I said. I started to walk away but again Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards him.

"Remember what I told you last time?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" I said confusedly. Ty shook his head and leaned down and kissed me again. "Oh that," I said after the kiss was over. "I remember now."

Ty laughed, "I don't want to have to remind you again," he said 'warningly'.

"Oh," I said, "Well I don't really mind," I said lightly and smiled at him. I waved as I walked off towards my friends.

"And that was just me reminding you!" Ty called after me before he jogged over to the football team.

**!#$&**

_An hour later, Green Acres Prep's gym, pep rally_

(**a/n**: I know I'm probably overplaying the kicker but that _is_ the best position after all)

The gigantic gym was packed full of students and teachers. I was sitting somewhere about halfway up the bleachers on one side of the gym with Soroya, Meghan, Jen, Rachel, Rebecca and Jamie. I'd convinced them all to go to the game with me on Sunday so I wouldn't be all alone.

They hadn't really had pep rallies at my old school in England. I suppose in a sense they had but they were nothing compared to this. The gym ceiling was covered in balloons in all different colored greens and whites; there were ones shaped like hawks and ones shaped like footballs. There were green and white streamers all over the place and posters saying things like 'Go Hawks!' hanging on the walls all around the gym. Supposedly this was a really special year for the Green Acres Hawks, if they continued playing the way they had been than they would win the championships again, for the fourth year in a row. This year also marked the last year that many of their star players would be playing on the team seeing as many of them were seniors.

The head coach had come to the front of the auditorium and announced that they would be introducing the players. There was music blasting from the stereos as he called out every player's name. Once their name was called the player would run through the gym doors through the pack of cheerleaders, who were doing their cartwheels and pyramids and flips all over the place, to benches set along the far wall.

Ashley was a cheerleader, captain of the squad in fact. She looked too perfect in her dark green and white outfit waving her pompoms around and shouting with everyone else. When she cart wheeled her tanned legs with come together like scissors and when she landed her silky, long blonde hair would fall perfectly back in place against her back.

Watching her kind of made me wonder why Ty had picked me over her. At times like this it seemed like a cruel joke but when I was with Ty it seemed perfect. I looked down at my jeans and sweatshirt and than back at Ashley in her spotless, tailored to perfection, probably dry cleaned cheerleading uniform; this was defiantly one of _those_ times.

Just than the music changed to U2's song called Vertigo (**a/n**: one of the songs I'm obsessed with) and one of the guys on the team ran into the center of the floor holding a spotless, brown, leather football in his hands (I'm pretty sure this was the holder or whatever you want to call him. Don't ask me, my knowledge of football is limited to what Ty told me). On the wall opposite from the double doors a big sheet was lowered down. On the sheet was a printed, yellow goal post.

"And finally…" the coach began dramatically into the microphone, "TY BALDWIN!"

The crowd erupted into cheers that were easily louder than they had been for any other player. The rest of the team didn't seem to mind, however, seeing as they all jumped to their feet and were yelling along with everybody else.

Ty jogged through the open doors and stopped next to his coach. He was wearing his uniform, pads and all and had his helmet held under one arm. He grinned up at the crowd like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing. But I suppose given the fact that he _is_ a Baldwin than he would be used to this kind of thing by now. He raised a fist in the air and yelled, "GO HAWKS!" which just set the crowd of yelling some more.

The coach tapped Ty on the shoulder and pointed to the player who was still standing in the center of the gym holding the football. When Ty looked at him he held the football up and waved it around before pointing to the makeshift goal post. Ty grinned like a little kid on Christmas before shoving his helmet on over his head and sprinting over to the other player who's jersey read 'Anderson' across the back I don't think I know his first name though. I know one other person on the team, Ty's best fried, Felix, is the quarterback. Sure I've met some of the other people Ty generally hangs out with but Felix was the only one I'd actually talked to or been around.

Anderson bent down onto on knee and held the football up with his hand. Ty did his little thing where he took three steps back and two steps to the left. Once he was set he ran the distance to the ball at a slight arc and when he was the proper distance away from the ball he swung his leg and his foot connected with the ball with a sharp snap. Ty did a little hop on one foot as he brought his other leg back down, it was pretty cool how far up he could get his leg (**a/n**: I can kick to the top of my head and I'm 5'6"), my leg would probably snap off.

The whole gym was silent as we watched the football spin through the air towards the makeshift goal posts. The crowd started screaming and stamping their feet as the ball connected with the wall in the dead center of the posts emitting a loud 'thud'.

Ty threw his arms in the air and high fived Anderson before taking off his helmet and tossing it into the air and catching it easily as it fell back down to him.

Ty's eyes scanned over the crowd and fell on me. He grinned and winked at me and I waved back. My friends were practically beside themselves with joy and the simple gesture had attracted the attention of many others. I was used to people watching me but it was different in the show ring or at Heartland so I didn't welcome it as readily as Ty seemed to. Which is why when Ty gestured for me to come down I put my hands in front of me and shook my head.

"Go! He wants you to go!" Soroya exclaimed excitedly and pushed on my back in an attempt to get me to move.

"No! I'm not going down there!" I replied.

When Ty saw I wasn't moving he walked up to the bleachers and stopped in the front. He handed his helmet to one of the schools nerdier kids who grinned widely displaying a mouth full of brace as he accept Ty's helmet. That was probably the best thing to ever happen to him in high school, aside from being elected captain of the math counts team or whatever it is he does.

Ty looked back up at me with that grin of his and a mischievous glint in his green eyes. He jumped up onto the lowest level of the bleachers and paused there. I shook my head frantically as he continued up the rows through the hoards of students who parted for him like the Nile had parted for Moses.

Finally he stopped in front of me and I looked around nervously, everyone was staring at me.

Ty held out his hand and said, "Come," simply.

I shook my head again and said, "Nuh uh…"

Ty grinned again, boy did he look like he was having fun, and yelled loudly so that everyone could hear him, "Who wants her to come?" the crowd roared their agreement and started chanting things like, "GO! GO! GO!"

Soroya nudged me sharply in the side with her elbow. So much for my friends who were chanting along with everyone else.

Reluctantly I stood up. Ty grabbed my hand and led me back down the bleachers.

"What are you doing?" I asked Ty when we reached the bottom and were standing on the tiled gym floor.

"Having some fun," Ty answered as he spun me around to face the whole student population of Green Acres Prep. I awkwardly raised a hand and waved at the sea of faces in front of me. Promptly there was more cheering. Whoa, I didn't know that just because I was going out with Ty Baldwin everyone else would start to like me to.

"Spread your legs a little," Ty told me suddenly.

"Excuse me?" that one lost me a bit.

"Just do it," Ty ordered me and somehow I found myself obliging. Ty dropped down to his knees behind me. "Wait what are you doi…" I started but stopped and let out a screech as I found myself sitting on Ty's shoulders and he was effortlessly standing back up. I clutched the back of his jersey for dear life and my legs kind of crossed across his front and were gripping his sides. Hmm… I seem to have found myself in somewhat compromising position with my boyfriend in front of the whole school… can't say this was on my 'to do list' for today.

"Holly crap! What are you doing Ty!"

Ty tilted his head up to look at me, "I already told you, I'm having some fun."

"You better not drop me!" he's like 6'2" and that's pretty high up when you're sitting on his shoulders not to mention the fact that his shoulder pads added and extra 3 inches to that height, at least.

Ty laughed loudly and I could feel it all the way through my legs, "I'm not going to."

That was all it took and I felt myself relaxing. I uncrossed my legs and let go of his shirt and rested my hands on top of his head instead, he's got _nice_ hair.

I looked back up the crowd and waved again, this was actually really fun. A lot of people were laughing but I knew they weren't laughing at me, they were laughing at the situation. Bet they probably didn't see something like this happen everyday.

Without realizing what I was doing I started bouncing my heels against Ty's sides and he started to walk parallel to the bleacher.

"What are you doing?" I asked and was once again clutching onto his shirt.

"Apparently you think I'm a horse." I abruptly stopped moving my feet. "I'm just doing what you said, walking."

I laughed and again it was only a matter of seconds before I could feel myself relaxing. I trusted Ty so much and I just felt safe whenever I was with him… even when I was sitting over six feet above the ground apparently.

Ty started walking a large oval around the room and I decided to have a little fun of my own so I kicked his sides again and yelled, "Yah horsey!" Ty picked up a 'trot' and it was a miracle I didn't fall off his shoulders with the amount I was laughing, add that to the fact that at first I was kind of bouncing around a bit and well… it's more than a miracle that I didn't land on the hard floor and give my self a concussion.

The crowd was yelling and stomping their feet again which only served to encourage Ty more and he started jumping around and giving little 'bucks'. Than I caught a sight of Ashley glaring daggers at my from across the room and that was enough for me to give Ty another kick in the sides and he picked up a 'canter'.

I laughed out loud again as Ty slowed back down to a walk again and he started laughing to. It was a miracle we both didn't fall over from laughing so hard but don't ask me to tell you how we stayed upright because I couldn't possible even begin to tell you.

Just than two of the football players who I hadn't even noticed had left the gymnasium in the first place returned through the double doors. One was dragging a dark blue gymnastics mat and one was holding a poll that looked like might have been attached to a pull up bar or something at some point. They stopped in the middle of the gym and straightened the mat out before getting down on their knees and they each held an end of the poll about one foot off of the ground at one side of the mat.

Than they started chanting, "JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!" and soon every person in the gym was chanting along with them, I think most of the teachers were to, except the principal who looked like she was trying to get everyone to stop but no one was paying any attention.

Ty tilted his head up to me again and before he moved so much as a foot he asked me, "What do you think?"

I contemplated the options for a moment before looking back over at the mat. "Aw what the heck," I finally said.

When my words were heard throughout the whole gym everyone started yelling again.

"On your command," Ty told me laughing.

I kicked him in the sides again and he started running towards the mat. When we were about five feet away from it I clutched on to Ty again grabbing his shirt and hooking my fingers around the inside of his pads. When we were about a foot away Ty pushed of with his powerful legs and I gave my third shriek of the day as we became airborne. It only lasted for about 2 seconds and the next thing I knew Ty's right foot was touching the blue mat again.

I thought we were going to be able to land and I wouldn't fall off or die but… well it's a good thing those two footballers thought to bring out a mat with them.

Apparently even the mighty Ty Baldwin couldn't support the extra weight I added to his shoulders enough to be able to land steadily. He fell taking me down with him… it might have been my fault we fell though since I leaned forwards.

Ty landed on his back and as I fell on top of him he let out a big, "Oof!"

I rolled off of Ty and sat up and looked at his face. "At least I landed on top of you," I joked as soon as I was sure he was okay.

"Lucky you," Ty retorted. I started laughing really, really hard then and soon Ty was to and he pulled me back down on top of him.

Soon the whole gym was howling with laughter and yelling, screaming and stamping their feet while Ty and I lay on the mat laughing our heads off.

For the first time since I had arrived at this school I actually felt like I was apart of something and not just watching from the sidelines.

**A/n: **I know I said this was going to be about the weekend. It was going to be about the weekend but the pep rally didn't turn out like I thought it was going to and it's 7 pages so I figured that was enough for a chapter. Besides if I had continued you wouldn't have gotten an update for like 2 more days! Next chapter will be up on Saturday and will be called 'The Weekend', I swear. Hope you liked it! **Review**!


	10. The weekend

**Authors Note**

Okay so the last chapter was totally stupid but I think every story needs a stupid, pointless chapter now and than, don't you? It makes it interesting. I hope you like this chapter though! **Review**!

**Important: **You've probably noticed that Amy and Ty are not really 'in character'. But as this story says on the summary page this is an 'AU' fanfiction (which means Alternate Universe if you didn't know). I am making Ty and Amy act the way I want them to because it is my story and because that is just how I think they should act. I don't mean to sound bitchy so sorry if it came across that way I just felt like it needed to be said.

I'm REALLY sorry I didn't update sooner like I said I was going to. You see I have the worst relationship possible with my 'dad' and he's constantly calling he names, telling me I'm depressed and saying every word that comes out of my mouth is a lie. I want to go to private school for high school and he doesn't want me to because some fucking stupid reasons that have nothing to do with it, my favorite is that he says because he had a bad high school experience and therefore I should to. Whatever, so anyway, long story short he came over here to talk to my mom and well… I heard EVERYTHING he had to say, from my spot down the hall, and well… it hurt a bit and I refused to go to his house. I went out with my mom and step-dad, who I have a great relationship with, and saw The Pink Panther, which was totally stupid but funny. When I got home I typed for the longest time to get this finished. Writing and listening to music always calm me down. So again I'm really sorry that it was not up sooner but I hope you like it anyway and I didn't mean to bore you with my fucking life so on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**!#$&**

**Chapter 9**

_Still Friday_

Turns out our fun was short lived because while we were still lying on the mat gasping for breath the Principal, Mrs. Pierce, came over to us, her high heels clicking annoyingly on the tiled floor.

"Ms. Fleming, Mr. Baldwin that is unacceptable behavior and this school will not tolerate it!" her voice echoed shrilly around the now silent gymnasium.

_Uh oh…_

Ty quickly stood up and reached a hand down to pull me up next to him.

"Our students do not conduct themselves like animals!" She continued.

"Aw come on Mrs. P," Ty began, "We were just goofing around, you know, getting into the spirit of the upcoming game."

"You could have seriously hurt yourself or Ms. Fleming! I do not call that _'goofing around'_."

"Well we-we're okay," I offered boldly looking at Ty for support.

"Yeah," Ty quickly agreed, "We're fine, no one's hurt here!"

"I'm afraid this calls for a detention of both your parts," Mrs. Pierce said sternly.

Oh shit, I've never gotten detention before! It so figures that the first month at a new school I end up getting one. Ty didn't look too pleased with this turn of events either.

"Hey Eleanor," Ty's football coach, Mr. Jones, addressed Mrs. Pierce as he walked over to join us. "They were just fooling around, you know how kids are these days," he joked but received a stern look from Mrs. Pierce. "Besides," he continued, "You don't really want to give the star player of your school's football team a detention two days before a big game, do you?"

Mrs. Pierce held us under her scrutinizing gaze for a moment before she sighed and said, "I suppose you're right," to Mr. Jones. Than she turned to Ty and me and said, "You won't get a detention this time but if I _ever_ see a stunt like that pulled in my school again I can assure you that you will."

Oh my god, I love you Mr. Jones! And before you say anything it's not like Mr. Jones is old and fat, he is only like 30 and quite fit if I may say so myself. But still, EW, he's a teacher! I think I'll stick with Ty, not that that's any real hardship.

I sighed in relief and glanced at Ty who grinned at me.

"But this pep rally is over. Mr. Baldwin you will go and get changed and Ms. Fleming you will wait outside," Mrs. Pierce said.

"That's fine," Mr. Jones answered. "We were just about to wrap it up anyway."

I followed Ty out of the gym. We exited to loud cheers and I waved. It was still fun even if we had gotten in trouble with Mrs. Pierce.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed once we were safely out of the doors. "That was so much fun!" I laughed.

"Yeah it was," Ty agreed.

Than I hit him in the chest, "Why'd you do that? I almost got in trouble!"

Ty mock rolled his eyes, "Hey, I was just going to put you on my shoulders, you're the one who wanted to go faster! And _you_ told me to do that jump," Ty reminded me.

"That's not what I meant!" I laughed again. "I meant why'd you even want me to come down in the first place?"

"Well because I thought it would be fun and I didn't really want to find out what would happen if I was left down there all alone with Ashley," he added quickly.

We stopped in front of the doors that led to the football team's locker rooms.

"So I guess I'll see you later on tonight than?" I asked him getting ready to say goodbye.

"Hold on, wait for me to change. I'll only be five minutes."

"Okay," I said as Ty disappeared through the locker room's doors. I leaned against the wall prepared to wait. It wasn't a long wait though because about 5 minutes later Ty reappeared by my side looking totally hot in a pair of jeans and his white and green football jersey.

He caught me looking at his jersey and just shrugged his perfect shoulders, "We always wear our jerseys before games."

"Cool."

"So are you going to wear yours?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I mean are you going to wear the jersey I gave you to the game on Sunday?"

"Oh yeah, defiantly," I agreed.

We than set off down the hallway, leaving the gym that was still exploding with noise as the last few cheers were done, behind, laughing about what we had just done.

**!#$&**

_Later that night, 6:30_

"Amy!" my dad yelled up the stairs to my room. "Ty's here!"

I looked at the digital clock on my bedside table, 6:30. He's right on time.

"Coming!" I called back. I stood in front of the big, floor length mirrors in my bathroom. I looked at myself from all different angles, I hope I looked okay. (**a/n: **I don't wear any makeup so I have no idea what I'm talking about and that is why Amy hardly ever wears any! But you can give Amy whatever kind of makeup you want, doesn't really matter) I was wearing a midnight blue, velvet dress that ended at my knees and had tiny, little straps. I had on strappy, black heels. After messing around with my hairs for the longest time I finally decided to just leave it down and let it softly curl naturally around my shoulders.

Finally I stepped out of my bathroom and shut the light off. I grabbed my black pea-coat from my closet and slipped it on. Before I left my room I picked up my black Coach bag from my desk.

I walked down the hallway and down the grand, hard wood staircase. My heels clicked on the mahogany wood, I hope they didn't sound as annoying as Mrs. Pierce's had earlier today.

When I was about halfway down Ty looked up from where he had been standing in the entrance way talking with my parents. "Hey!" he said brightly and I felt his eyes running appraisingly over my body. "You like nice," he said as I came and stood next to him.

I smiled softly and said, "Thanks, so do you." He was wearing a pair of black slacks with a dark green button down shirt that totally set of his amazing eyes. So yeah… he looked pretty damn hot.

"You ready to go?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I agreed, I was a little nervous for two reasons. 1- I was about to meet _the_ Baldwin's and 2- I really wanted them to like me. "Let's go."

"Well you kids have fun," my dad said as he opened the door and herded us out into the cool beginning of fall night. Boy he really sounded like a parent right there.

"Drive carefully," my mum called after us.

Once the door had closed behind us I groaned, "Sorry about them."

Ty looked down at me curiously, "What for? I thought they were nice."

I shrugged, "They're just… I don't know, parents."

Ty laughed, "You're cute with them. You get along really good."

"Do you get on good with your parents?" I asked curiously.

Ty paused for a moment before replying. "Generally yes, I have a very good relationship with my dad but my mom… well my mom is a bit set in her own ways. We're good though, but I suppose we've had our share of problems," he said thoughtfully.

"Oh," was all I said. Well I hope she likes me.

"Just the normal stuff though," Ty added.

"I hope they like me," I said worriedly as we reached Ty's black Cadillac Escalade EXT (**a/n**: that's the one with the truck bed in the back, I finally found out the name! I LOVE this car! It's SO hot! Just like Ty wink, wink).

As Ty opened the passenger side door for me he said, "I wouldn't worry about, I'm sure they'll love you." He helped me into the car before he closed the door and walked around the front of the car and slid into the driver's seat.

He put the keys in the ignition, backed up and soon we were on our way to Baldwin Ways, or Ty's house, which ever you prefer.

About 10 minutes later we were pulling into the circular driveway in front of Ty's house… ha palace is more like it. Just the size though because it didn't have a moat or towers or weird things on the roof… thank god. On one side of the house another drive branched of from the circle and Ty drove down there. We pulled up besides a _garage_, I use the term very loosely, that looked like it could house 15 cars, _easily_. Even their cars had their own house! When I mentioned this to Ty he just laughed loudly. Ty, however, did not pull into the garage but parked in the driveway like a normal person would do at a normal house. Ha-ha normal, that's a good one!

Ty shut of the car and quickly got out. I undid my seatbelt and just as I was about to open my door to get out Ty ran around the front of the car and opened it for me. He grinned at me and held out his hand to help me. "Ma'am," he said with a very fake and a very exaggerated English accent. I couldn't help but laugh as I took his hand and let him help me down even though I could have easily done it myself.

Ty's arm slipped around my waist as we walked to the front entrance of the house.

As we neared the front terrace I felt the butterflies return to my stomach. I looked down at my dress and absently smoothed it down with my hands. "Are you sure I look okay?" I asked Ty nervously.

"You look amazing," Ty replied. "Don't worry so much, they'll love you," he assured me again.

"Are you sure?" I asked doubtfully. "I mean after all they are…"

Ty laughed and cut me off, "Yeah I know, they're the Baldwin's, billionaires and the Bill Gates off horse racing. They've given horse racing a new meaning," he sounded like he was quoting a newspaper or magazine article. "But under all the fame and fortune they're just normal people, trust me. I've lived with them for 17 years."

"Okay…" I trailed off. Ty's words had helped a bit but I was still nervous! Who wouldn't be?

As soon as we stepped in front of the door it swung open and we were faced by a woman who looked like she was in her late 40's maybe. She was wearing a pair of black pants and a white button down shirt so I'm presuming she was a maid or a door person or whatever.

"Good evening Master Tyler," she greeted Ty as we stepped into the grand entrance way. Whoa, _Master_ Tyler? They've sure got _some_ help… "If I may take your coats." I handed her my coat and Ty did the same. "I'll take your purse Miss," she addressed me and I handed her my bag. "Master Bradley, Lady Elizabeth and Master Lee are in the main sitting room," she informed us before heading off down a hall to, I presume, put our coats in a closet or something.

"Who was that?" I whispered to Ty as he put a hand on my back and guided me down a different hall than the one the maid had just taken.

Ty laughed, "That was Lucinda, one of the maids." He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. I mean at Heartland we have people who clean for us and occasionally do the cooking because my mom isn't a great cook and we aren't exactly 'roughing' it if you know what I mean but we don't have the whole army of staff I'm positive the Baldwin's have.

"Oh okay." Than I added with a smirk, "_Master_ Tyler."

Ty groaned, "Please don't. Lucinda _insists_ on calling me that, I hate it but I've gotten used to it."

Finally we reached what Lucinda had called the main 'sitting' room. It was huge! The walls were painted an off white color and there were a lot of famous and expensive paintings of horses grazing in fields, running, being riding, you name it exquisitely framed around the walls. There was one of one of their horses winning the Triple Crown with the blanket of white carnations over his back. The Baldwin's were surrounding the horse and jockey and Ty and his brother Lee were proudly holding the trophy. There was also a bunch of different sculptures of horses in various settings and poses. In the middle of one wall there was a big, stone fireplace and the mantle was dotted with various photographs. Hanging over the mantle piece was a huge painting of Ty and his family, it looked like it had been done a while ago, Ty looked about 10 in it. Aw he was _so_ cute! The floor was a dark hardwood and in the center of the room there was a dark green oriental carpet and on top of it was a black leather sofa, two recliners, and a mahogany coffee table with a glass top. The far wall held a huge sliding door that allowed you to see an extensive patio, sprawling green backyard and a very large, practically Olympic sized swimming pool. From the windows hung dark green velvet curtains, dark green was the Baldwin Way's color, like on their emblem that was the color so a lot of their stuff was dark green. However, I did notice that the room did not have a TV, but I suppose they have a TV room… or 20 as the case may be.

"Ah you're finally here!" a warm masculine voice exclaimed. I looked over and saw the voice had come from a man sitting in one of the recliners. I took this to be Ty's dad, Bradley Baldwin. He looked like he was in his 40's; he was tall and well built with thinning dark brown hair and vibrant green eyes. He looked like an older version of Ty. He was wearing a simple pair of khaki pants and a navy button down. He got up from his chair and walked towards us. He extended a hand towards me and said, "Hi I'm Brad."

I put my hand in his and he shook it firmly, "It's wonderful to meet you Mr. Baldwin. I'm Amy Fleming."

Mr. Baldwin smiled warmly and replied, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you to Amy, we've heard all about you. But you _must_ call me Brad, I insist. And this," he took my arm and led me over to the couch where a woman was sitting. She got up as we approached. "Is my wife Elizabeth."

So this was Ty's mom, she was also tall and slender, just like her son and husband but she was skinnier, obviously. She had shoulder length light brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of black pants and a simple, but I'm sure was very expensive and most defiantly designer, turquoise top that set off her eyes. She smiled at me revealing two perfect rows of white teeth, "Welcome it's so good to have you here!" she said brightly as her eyes ran over me as if appraising a horse she might but. She held out her hand and I shook it, "Call me Liz," she told me but unlike her husband I noticed it didn't come so freely but I tried to ignore it. She took a sip from her glass of red wine.

"Thank you for having me. It's so nice to meet you," I said sincerely.

Just that Ty's brother Lee ambled casually into the room, "When's dinner?" he yawned.

"Oh Lee," Mrs. Baldwin, er Liz, sighed. "I thought I told you to change for dinner."

"I _did_ change for dinner," Lee replied and flashed her a smile. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black button down and a black tie.

"You look like you're going to a funeral!" Liz complained.

Lee ignored her and his eyes fell on me, "Oh hey Amy! You like really good."

"Hi Lee," I said back. "And thanks," I said awkwardly.

"You've already met?" Brad asked mildly surprised.

"Lee was with me when I took Chief to Heartland," Ty cut in.

Brad nodded but I noticed a dark shadow pass momentarily over Liz's face at the mention of Heartland.

"Ah yes Heartland," Brad said. "You'll have to tell me about that latter. You use herbal remedies there don't you?"

"Yes we do. We us a lot of the Bach Flower Remedies, they're great for a lot of different things and almost always show positive results," I answered.

"I find is fascinating; you'll have tell me more about them at dinner. But first thing's first, do you like horse racing Miss Fleming?" he looked inquiringly at me.

I smiled, "Yes I do, I've always loved it."

Brad smiled wide; even his smile was like Ty's. "Wonderful. Would you like to see the Triple Crown trophy?"

"I'd love to." I'd always wanted to see one close up.

"Dad always does this," Ty told me. "Everyone that comes into the house has to see the trophy room. I swear, even the plumber and electricians have seen it at this point!" (**a/n**: gah this is _so_ annoying. My mom used to show this video we got when we went to Mexico of us swimming with Dolphins to all our guests.)

I laughed and Brad said, "Well I'm proud of my accomplishments."

"Dinner should be ready in about 20 minutes," Liz informed us. "Why don't we give Amy a little tour of the house before we eat?"

"Wonderful idea!" Brad exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm out," Lee said. "Call me when dinner's ready." He strolled out of the room and headed down one of the hallways.

So they took me on a tour of the house, well we only got through the first floor that's how big it is. To put it simply… WOW! I mean its ah-mazing! Everything is so big and lavishly decorated. Whoever decorated it has excellent taste. I saw the formal dinning room, the less formal dinning room, the family eating space, the kitchen bustling with all its staff, like three other sitting rooms, an office, a library, a theater room complete with rows and rows of leather recliners and a movie screen that took up an entire wall, a TV room with the biggest plasma TV I've ever seen and I don't even remember the rest. But the trophy room… I was blown away. It was this _huge_ room and the walls were lined with shelves. On the shelves were all the trophies Baldwin Ways had won in racing, Kentucky Derby trophies, Preakness trophies, Belmont trophies, Triple Crown Trophies, Breeder Cup trophies, you name it they had it. There were pictures of every horse they ever had and photos of every winning horse and trophy. One wall was completely devoted to photographs of the horses and another wall was split between Ty and Lee's trophies and photos. But there was more still, there were photos and trophies and ribbons from the horses that they'd shown in jumping, dressage, halter, cross country and many other classes. There were even the gold medals Baldwin Ways had won in the Olympics! I've never seen so many trophies and ribbons and photos in my life! And because of the high value of the trophies in the room there was a touch screen on the door that scanned your thumb print to grant you entrance.

As we re-entered the main sitting room that we had been in before Brad said, "Can I get anyone anything to drink?"

Just than that woman, Lucinda, walked into the room, "Dinner is now served," she announced formally.

"Impeccable timing, as usual Luce," Brad said happily.

"Thank you Master Bradley. Shall I retrieve Master Lee?" she replied but smiled at Brad's compliment.

"That would be very nice Lucinda," Liz told her.

"Yes, right away Lady Elizabeth." She hurried out of the room to where ever it was that Lee was I guess.

"Lucinda's an angel," Liz remarked when Lucinda was out of the room. "Such good help is so hard to find these days. It's incredibly lucky we have her."

"That it is," Brad agreed.

Once we were all seated around the grand dinning table the kitchen staff brought out the food, heaping plateful after plateful of it. First was a delicious Caesar salad followed by turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing… it was like Thanksgiving dinner which is _the_ greatest dinner all year. The sight of it all made my mouth water and it tasted even better! Dammit, I think I'm going to take the chef home with me! Think he'll fit in my purse? Hehe portable chef. (**a/n**: I have this thing with my brother where I say he's going to be my butler AND cook AND driver ((on occasion)) so he's my portable butler)

"So Amy," Brad addressed me once the food had all been served. "Tell us about yourself. You show in jumping too, you're quite good. Tell us about your horse, I always like to hear about other people's horses."

"Well my horse's name in Sundance, or Sunny for short. He's a 16.1 hand high gelding. He's 60 percent Buckskin and 40 percent Thoroughbred. Sunny is about 5 years old. I rescued him when I was eleven from a horse auction. He was a mean tempered 9 months old that was going to be sold for glue because no one could get near him. I begged my mum to buy him for me and worked with him until he accepted me and other people; I never thought he'd turn out to be such a brilliant jumper!"

"So does Heartland take in a lot of rescues?" Brad asked interestedly. He seemed genuinely interested in Heartland and the work we do there.

"About 85 percent of the horses we take in are horses that are owned but 15 percent are horses that we rescue from auctions, that we find mistreated in abandoned fields or such or that other people have found and send to us. We work with them until they are able to accept people again and we try to find a suitable owner for them who will match their personality and who are able to provide for the particular horses needs."

"One of the breeders we've purchased many a horse from had some very commendable things to say about you. He said he'd sent a few horse to your stables in England," Brad told me.

"Oh, what was his name?" I asked interestedly.

"Anthony Higson, do you recall the name?"

I thought for a moment, "Ah yes I remember him! Sent us a few horses, a dapple gray gelding last year, he was lovely!"

"Dapple gray gelding you say? Was his name by any chance, Summer Storm?" he asked looking intrigued.

"Yes, that was his name." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "How did you know that?"

Ty grinned at me and said, "We bought him, he's a hopeful contender to make the U.S Olympic team for us in a few years."

I gasped, "You bought Storm? Oh I'd love to see him again! I loved him; he was such an amazing horse."

"He sure is," Brad said appraisingly, "You'll have to come back sometime to see him."

I smiled wide, "I'd love that." I remembered Storm, he was my favorite horse at Heartland at the time, well second, Sunny is my favorite. It would be wonderful to get to see him again.

"So Amy," Liz cut in. She'd hardly said anything to me so far. "What do you plan on doing in your life? Any thoughts for college?"

I was a bit taken aback but replied, "Well I've always wanted to go to Arizona State University, it's just such a lovely campus and a wonderful school, and I was planning on majoring in business management and maybe getting a minor in veterinary. But for the long run I've always been planning on taking over Heartland one day."

"I see," Liz said.

"I want to go to ASU to!" Ty said from next to me.

"Really?" I glanced over at him.

He grinned and said, "Always have."

"Ty's already applied for early admission," Liz told me. "He to is going to major in business management and is going to run Baldwin Ways someday," she looked at her son affectionately and you could clearly hear the pride in her voice. "He'll get in easy, stellar grades, plenty of extracurricular activities, Ty is most likely going to be his class's valedictorian and of course he's got a good, respected, powerful name. We bought him a private luxury jet as an early graduation gift so he can travel back to Virginia every weekend to help running Baldwin Ways."

I smiled politely but felt a little awkward, it was like she was purposefully trying to accentuate _her_ own wealth and at the same time compare it to _my_ families. My family's pretty wealthy too, not anywhere close to the Baldwin's but still.

Ty seemed to notice my discomfort and quickly changed the subject. He turned to face me and said, "Tell them about what you've done with Chief at Heartland," he suggested.

"Yes how is Chief doing?" Brad asked. I noticed Liz's face darken at the mention of Chief and Heartland.

"Uh well Chief is doing great," I said uncertainly.

"Have you found out what's wrong with him yet?" Liz asked briskly.

"Um well not exactly. You see he's been fine, perfect in fact. I've had the chiropractor and vet check out his back, I've ridden him, switched his saddles. He's perfect, no trace of any problem. Ty's going to bring the saddle he rode him with at the show over to Heartland on Monday, it might have just been the saddle that was pinching him or something."

"So you haven't found anything wrong with him?" Liz asked.

"Well no but I…"

Liz, however, cut me off and said rather snippily, "Well than why is he even at Heartland?"

I felt my face heat up and the butterflies return to my stomach. "Well he's only been with us for three days. It may have been the saddle or it may have been something he ate that didn't agree with him. But three days is still too soon to draw any definite conclusions," I said carefully.

"Mom," Ty said warningly. "Chief is my horse and you gave me the chance to treat him the way _I_ wanted," he reminded her.

"Alright fine, I've given that horse one more chance and you've dealt with it how you've seen best fit. I accept that," Liz replied.

"I think Heartland sounds like a wonderful place," Brad said from his seat at the head of the table. "I think I may stop by during the week to look around if you don't mind Amy."

"Not at all, we'd love to have you," I said happily. At least Ty's dad seemed to like me.

Just than a segment of The All American Rejects song Dirty Little Secret (**a/n**: LOVE this song!) started playing from the opposite side of the table. Everyone looked over to see Lee pulling his silver RAZR out of his pocket and snapping it open. "Hey J what's up?" he said into it.

Liz glared at him. "Lee you know there are no phones at the table!" she reprimanded him.

Lee waved her off with one of his hands and got up and walked out of the room. As he exited the room I could faintly hear him saying, "Yeah, dude she is _so_ hot! You should be here!" I looked down at my plate and blushed after determining that Lee was talking about me.

Well Ty's dad likes me, his brother likes me… granted not in the way I'd prefer but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Ty's mom's the only one who doesn't seem to like me much.

A minute later Lee rejoined us at the table and shoved his RAZR back into his jeans pocket. As he sat down he looked across the table at Ty and me and exclaimed, "Dude that was SO fucking awesome at the pep rally today!"

"Language Lee," Liz said sternly.

"What happened at the pep rally?" Brad asked his sons interestedly ignoring his wife's comment.

"Oh god it was so cool!" Lee exclaimed. "Ty goes up in the stands and makes Amy come down. Than he puts her on his shoulders and he starts running around the gym, like a horse. Than two of the guys on the team bring out a poll and Ty tries to jump over it but he falls and Amy lands on top of him. Than Mrs. P goes over to them and gets all mad but Mr. J talks her out of giving them a detention. But it was so awesome! I can't wait till tryouts next year so I can finally be on the team!"

Brad threw back his head and laughed. "Nice one guys."

Liz, however, didn't look too pleased with this. "You're lucky you didn't get in trouble Ty, you've never gotten detention before. You don't need to start in your senior year."

"Jeez mom," Ty groaned. "We were just having some fun!"

"Be that as it may I…"

Brad cut her off, "Come on Liz they're kids. Let them have some fun while they still can."

"You should have seen Ashley's face!" Lee said gleefully. "It was priceless!"

"I don't see what's wrong with Ashley!" Liz said indignantly. "She's a very nice young lady from a respectable family."

"Liz, Ashley wasn't that great," Brad said from the head of the table. "Personally I didn't like her very much. Amy here is much better than her, more suited for Ty to."

I smiled at his praise. I was so happy that that is how he thought of me. I just wish Liz could see me the same way.

**!#$&**

_After dinner_

"Here is your coat Miss," Lucinda said as she handed me my black pea coat. After I had put it on she handed me my bag and preceded to hand Ty his coat. It was around 11 now. After dinner we had had the most delicious desserts I've ever tasted and than went back into the sitting room and talked some more.

"Well I'm very glad you could come tonight Amy," Brad said warmly. "It was a pleasure meeting you and I look forward to seeing you again."

"Thanks it was great meeting you to. And thank you again for having me," I replied.

"You're welcome here anytime," Brad said and than he stepped forward and gave me a fatherly embrace and a kiss on the cheek.

When he let me go I turned to Liz and said awkwardly, "Um it was really nice to meet you to."

"It was lovely to meet you to." And than she stepped forward and hugged me also though I suspect she only did it out of politeness. "You should join us again for dinner sometime soon," she added.

"Thank you," I said graciously. Liz smiled but I noticed that it didn't reach her swimming pool blue eyes.

"See ya later Amy!" Lee called from behind his parents.

"Um yeah see you later Lee."

Once we were safely outside in the cool fall night air I sighed as I felt Ty's arm come around my waist and pull me into him.

"Your mom hates me," I said softly.

"She doesn't hate you," Ty said. "She just… she just needs time to get used to things and get to know you. Once she gets to know you she'll love you. But I could kill her; she acted like such a bitch tonight."

"She hates me," I said again in despair and Ty rubbed my arm comfortingly. "But at least your dad seemed to like me," I said hopefully.

"Are you kidding?" Ty exclaimed. "My dad _loved_ you! He was never like that with Ashley or anyone."

"Oh, well that's good I suppose."

"Hey," he said as we reached his black Escalade EXT. "Don't worry about it."

"I just wanted them to like me," I said as he opened my door for me.

"Well mom's stupid. Don't take any of it personally she's always like that," he assured me as he helped me up into the comfortable leather seat and closed the door.

10 minutes later we were back in front of my house at Heartland. Ty helped me out of the car and took my hand as we walked up to my front door. I dug my key out from my bag because everyone in my house was already be asleep seeing as there were no lights on.

When we stopped on the porch Ty turned me so that I faced him. "Thanks for coming tonight, I know it couldn't have been easy, especially with the way my mom was acting," he said softly.

"It was fun," I said truthfully. "Your dad's really nice."

Ty smiled softly before saying, "So we're still on for the boat ride tomorrow right?"

"Definitely," I agreed, I've been waiting for this all week!

"Great. So I'll come pick you up at 11 tomorrow morning? So we can be out on the lake by noon."

"Okay," I agreed.

"Wear a bathing suit," Ty told me. "You never know what night happen but bring a jacket because sometimes it gets cool out on the lake."

"Okay," I replied. Than truthfully I said, "I can't wait! I've never really been on a boat before."

Ty looked shocked, "You've never been on a boat before? Well we'll just have to fix that now won't we?"

"Definitely," I said again.

Ty leaned down and kissed me gently. When he pulled back he smiled down at me and said, "So I'll see you tomorrow than."

"At 11," I added with a grin.

**!#$&**

_Saturday morning_

Today's Saturday! I'm going sailing with Ty today! Ooooh I'm so excited!

I woke up at 8:30 and went down to the stables to help out with the horses for a little while. I took Sunny on a trail ride because I feltl like I'd been kinda neglecting him the past few days what with all my energy being focused on Chief and all.

At 10:30 I went back up to the house and took a quick shower so that I didn't smell like the barn when Ty got here.

I put on a cute bikini I got from American Eagle that was blue seersucker. I put on a pair of naturally faded and very comfortable pair of jeans from Abercrombie and Fitch and blue polo with tiny light blue strips from American Eagle. When Ty got here I quickly grabbed my black North Face jacket shoving my cell phone, a pair of sunglasses and some money into the pockets before going down to let Ty in since everyone else was down at the stables.

"Hey!" I greeted Ty as I opened the door.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said as I followed him out of the door. "Let me just call the office to let Lou know I'm leaving," I said as I took out my cell phone, which was a tiny Nokia that I loved. I went to the stored numbers and scrolled down until I found the one for Heartland's office.

"Hello this is Heartland Stables. This is Lou Fleming speaking how may I help you?" Lou answered the phone using her 'business' voice.

"Hey Lou it's me," I said quickly.

"Hey Amy what's up?" she asked switching to her non-business voice, her normal voice.

"Nothing much just calling to let you guys know I'm leaving now."

"Oh right you're going sailing with Ty right?"

"Yep."

"Okay well I'll let mum and dad know you left. Have fun!"

"Oh I will!" I assured her before clicking the phone off and putting it back into my pocket. I turned back to Ty, "Okay _now_ I'm ready."

Ty had been looking down towards the stables but turned back to me as I spoke. "Great! Let's go. I'll see Chief later when I bring you back."

"Okay cool. He was fine this morning," I assured him.

"That's good I just miss having the little devil around all the time."

"Yeah I get that. That's how I was when Sunny was shipped over here a few weeks before I came," I recalled from personal experience.

"It sucks," Ty agreed. "I just parked over there," Ty gestured to the driveway. I looked for his car but couldn't find the black Escalade EXT. There was a black Audi which was Lou's, a yellow Hummer H3 that I didn't know, a dark blue convertible Corvette that had the top down, a silver Land Rover and a black Mercedes.

"Where's your car?" I asked Ty curiously as he led me over to where the cars were parked.

"Oh I brought my other car. The Vet," he said affectionately, pointing to the midnight blue convertible Corvette.

"Nice, I like it," I commented.

"Thanks. I just figured it was so nice out today so why not bring it? I'll put the top up if you want though," he offered.

"No its okay, leave it down!" I said eagerly, I LOVE driving with the top down (**a/n**: man it is SO awesome!).

"Are you sure?" Ty asked looking at me quizzically. "You're not worried it will mess up your hair or anything?"

"No," I laughed. I hadn't done anything special to my hair that morning anyway and it was so sunny and warm out that it would be stupid to drive in a convertible with the top up.

Ty grinned at me and said happily, "Just another one of the many reasons you're so much better than Ashley."

I laughed and soon we were in the car driving out of Heartland. When we were on a rode that not many other cars were driving on Ty would step on the gas and go a 'bit' faster than the speed limit, it was SO much fun! But when we were around a lot of other cars Ty would slow down and go the speed limit.

After 20 minutes of pure fun in the little convertible we arrived at the Fairgrounds Marine Port, it was near the place where the horseshows had been. Ty pulled into a parking space and we got out and headed towards the docks. There were a lot of people milling about in outfits that literally screamed "I'm a tourist! Where are the bathrooms?" there was a board walk that had those binocular things that you put a quarter in and look through and benches and an outdoor café where parents were enjoying lemonades or ice teas while the kids ran up and down the boardwalk or were looking through the binoculars. In front of the docks where the boats were tied there was a bronze statue on a yacht and a man in a sailor's uniform looking through a telescope.

"Come on, my boats down here," Ty said as he led me down to the docks entrance. There was a main dock that branched off into a bunch of other little docks. There were a lot of really nice yachts and sailboats, some that weren't as nice as others and some were big and some were small. We went down a dock that rocked gently in the calm water. There were a few people standing on the dock in front of the most gorgeous sailboat I've ever seen. It was long with a glossy white paint job and mahogany wood trim, the masts stood tall and proud.

On the side it said 'The Commander In Chief' in green letters and under that it said 'Baldwin."

"No way," I gasped as I read the side of the boat. "That's _your_ boat?"

"Yep," Ty said proudly. "She's pretty new, under a year. I just got her for my birthday."

Why do people always refer to their boats as a 'she'?

"It's gorgeous," I breathed as we got closer.

"She is," Ty affectionately.

I giggled, "You named your boat after your horse?" I asked as we reached the boat. The group of tourists stopped talking and looked slightly startled at my words. Guess they didn't expect this magnificent boat to be owned by someone so young.

Ty just laughed and in response he said, "Of course. My boat and my horse, the two best things in my life." He paused and than said, "Before you came along that is."

I felt my heart flip in my chest and I looked at Ty who just grinned that famous grin of his at me. I smiled back.

Ty took a set of keys out of his jeans pocket and dangled it in front of my face. "Ready?"

"You bet!" I said excitedly.

As Ty walked over to the side of the boat and pulled down a little ladder thing, one of the tourists said, "Is this your boat son?"

Ty turned to face the man who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and said, "Yes it is sir."

"Tis a fine boat," one of the man's companions said appreciatively.

"I'm quite partial to her," Ty agreed.

"I'm James Alles," Hawaiian shirt man said and held out a hand to Ty.

"I'm Ty, Ty Baldwin," Ty said as he shook the man's hand.

"Baldwin you say?" one of the women said. "As in Baldwin Ways?"

I bet Ty gets this all the time when he introduces himself, it must suck. But if Ty felt this way he gave no indication of it. "Aye, that's me."

"Wonderful to meet you!" Hawaiian shirt man… er I mean James said and clapped Ty on the shoulder. "This is John, Ethan, Nick, Suze and Mallory," he said, pointing out all of the people he was with.

Ty smiled and said, "Hi, nice to meet you." Than he pointed to me and said, "This is Amy Fleming."

I waved, "Hello!"

One of the women than said to me, "Is your father Tim Fleming the famous gold medalist Olympic show jumper by any chance?" she asked curiously.

"Yes he is," I smiled. People don't usually recognize my name as fast as they do for Ty.

"Brilliant!" one of the men exclaimed, "We've met a Baldwin and a Fleming in the same day!"

Hawaiian shirt man turned to Ty and said, "So do you have any horses looking good for the Triple Crown this spring?

Ty grinned again said, "Well I don't know if I'm really supposed to tell you, but you can keep a secret right?"

"Course we can!" Hawaiian shirt man exclaimed looking excited that he was talking to a Baldwin _and _was going to get the inside scoop on their horses.

"Well I'll tell you this, look out for a horse by the name of name Baldwin Prince," Ty told them.

"We'll be sure to do just that!" one of the men, I think it was Nick, exclaimed.

"So wha…" Hawaiian shirt man started but was cut off by a high pitched voice.

"TY!" I heard a familiar voice call out to Ty. I felt my heart sink as I recognized who the voice had come from. Oh this was so NOT good.

Ty slowly turned around to see Ashley Grant waving wildly to him and walking down the dock towards us. The groups of tourists awkwardly moved on to the next boat in the line but were close enough so that they could still hear what was going on.

Ashley was wearing a tiny black bikini with only a swishy light pink sarong tied around her skinny waist. She was wearing a pair of big tinted beach house sunglasses and her blonde hair fell down her back. She was perfectly tanned; she was probably at Hollywood tans yesterday.

Ty sighed, "What do you want Ashley?"

Ashley pushed her sunglasses up to the top of her head and looked up at Ty through her big baby blue eyes. "We _always_ go out on your boat on the weekends," she said matter-of-factly. Than she turned to face me, "What's _she_ doing here?"

"I think the more accurate question is, what are _you_ doing here Ashley?" Ty demanded.

"I already told you why I'm here baby, we always go on your boat on the weekend," she said as she tried to but arms around Ty's neck.

Ty wrenched her arms off of him and put them firmly by her sides. Boy did he look pissed off. "Okay one; never EVER call me that ever again. Two; you can't come on my boat anymore because we're not going out anymore. I broke up with you, remember? Three…"

Ashley snorted daintily and cut him off by saying, "You weren't _serious._ I mean why would you ever break up with me for the poor little farm girl from Germany?"

"I'm from England," I reminded her inwardly bursting with laughter.

"Whatever. Same difference, they're both in France," she replied oh so 'intelligently'.

Ty met my gaze and he shook his head while I was still inwardly bursting with laughter.

"Well guess what Ashley? I did break up with, we're finished so I suggest that you…"

"You're just going to use _her_ until you get bored with her." Well _that_ certainly stopped my laughing.

Ty's face changed so drastically right than, he was thunderous. "ASHLEY GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME AND MY BOAT AND MY _GIRLFRIEND_!" Ty roared, attracting the attention from A LOT of people. If you could have seen Ashley's face when Ty called me his girlfriend, it was hilarious. Hmmm… cat hat your tongue?

"Ty…" she whined.

"I'm not kidding Ashley! Do you want me to file a restraining order on you? Because I can get one like that," he snapped his fingers to prove his point on how faced he could do it. He pulled a silver RAZR from his pocket and flipped it open, fingers poised and ready to start dialing.

"HMPH!" Ashley exclaimed before turning on her heel and marching back up the dock.

"I'm so so _so_ sorry," Ty said as he turned to face me.

I just shrugged, "Its okay. At least she's gone now," I stated the best part.

Ty smiled weakly, "Yeah I guess but she ruined everything. I wanted to have a nice time with you today."

"We still can," I softly reminded him slipping an arm around his waist.

"Yeah I guess you're right," he said before he quickly kissed me. "Now let's go! Before she comes back! With enforcements," he shuddered.

I giggled, "Good idea!"

Ty pushed me forwards towards the small ladder and I carefully climbed up it, Ty's hand on my leg 'spotting' me. I swung my legs over the side of the boat and landed on my feet on the deck. Ty was soon standing next to me.

"So what do you think?" he asked me as I looked around.

"It's amazing!" I gushed. Near the front of the ship there was a little room that had the controls and steering wheel. There was a little door that I'm guessing led down to the cabin. On the back of the ship there was a lot of comfortable looking chairs and different methods of seating built into the deck and there was a little chrome refrigerator.

"She's one of the new automatic pilot boats," Ty told me as he pulled the ladder back over the side. "I just have to steer out of port and that's it."

"Cool," I said as I looked over the side of the boat into the dark water lapping its sides.

Ty pointed to the door, "Cabin, bathroom, kitchen, TV, computer blah blah blah is down there."

"Okay."

Soon we were ready to set off.

"Have a good trip!" Hawaiian shirt man waved from down bellow on the dock.

"Thanks! Have a good day!" Ty called back and waved.

I waved as Ty started the boats engine and pulled away from the dock slowly and skillfully. I waved to the group of tourists down on the dock. They waved back while they enviously watched us sail away on this big, beautiful sailboat. Which reminds me…

"Hey Ty," I said as I walked over to where he was seated in the control box. "Don't sailboats use the sails to sail?" I am so completely clueless when it comes to boats, but I do know one thing about them though and that's that I LOVE them!

Ty laughed and said, "Yes but I can't let the sails down until we're out of port. And the engine is used for if you're sailing on a day that doesn't have much wind."

"Oh," I nodded in understanding. "Right."

I went and stood by the side of the boat as Ty skillfully and deftly headed the huge ship away from all the other boats.

On the way to getting out in the open lake you have to sail past the boardwalk. A bunch of people, both tourists and locals, took in Ty's boat enviously. Probably wishing they could be on it right now. There was a lot of chatter and pointing as the read the side of the boat where it said 'Baldwin'. I looked over my shoulder to see if Ty had noticed this and sure enough I saw him shaking in laughter.

I turned back to the boardwalk just in time to see Ashley standing at the end of it glaring at me. I smiled widely and waved to her. She spun around to face her group of friends that always seemed to be following her.

Now we were away from the dock and all that was ahead of me was mile after mile of open lake.

**A/n: **sorry if you don't like the ending but I have 2 things to say about that. 1) Its practically 4 a.m. and I think I have the right to sleep a few hours, right? 2) Its already 16 pages and it's already 8,845 words! Don't expect an update this long anytime soon! I hope you enjoyed it, it was fun to write and if you want to her about what happens on the boat or at the football game tell me in a review. But I don't know I might save a boat scene for latter. **Review**!


	11. Repeats

**Author's Note**

Sorry for the long wait, I've been having computer trouble. Thanks for all the great reviews for the last chapter! Just a note for the last chapter: I had a bunch of misspellings and word mix ups that I don't usually have! Just ignore them! Keeping in mind that I was practically asleep on my laptop at the time! Hope you like this chapter! Review!

Contrary to popular demand I am not in fact going to do a big boat scene! Now before you come at me with pitch forks remember: There is a chance for it to still appear in this story and I am also planning a sequel and Ty is not getting rid of his boat anytime soon, it will only be gone if he gets a new one!

Check out my new story 'The Peak'! It's a Heartland fic to and I think it's pretty good. Ty's character is pretty different though.

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**CIC- Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 10**

_Monday, Heartland_

"Did you bring the saddle?" I asked Ty as soon as he got out of his Escalade EXT.

Ty laughed, "Course I did, didn't I just tell you I had it at school today?"

"Yeah but I'm just anxious to start." I said.

Ty reached into the backseat of his car and pulled out a saddle in a dark green cover that had the Baldwin Ways emblem embroidered on it in white thread.

"Did you bring your helmet?" I asked since Ty was supposed to ride Chief today and just incase he decided to freak out this time it was better to be on the safe side since his helmet saved his life last time. Okay so maybe that was a _little_ dramatic but you get my point.

Ty pulled out a charcoal gray GPA training helmet and held it in front of my face.

Chief stuck his big, elegant bay head over his half door when he heard the barn doors shut behind us. He whickered and bobbed his head excitedly when he saw Ty was me and that he was carrying a saddle. "See," I said. "I told you he always looks for you."

Ty grinned and set the saddle on the saddle rack. He patted Chief's neck and Chief whickered affectionately. There was no questioning who the big, bay gelding's favorite was. Once I had gotten saddle pads, the girth, bridle and a grooming kit, Ty led Chief out into the barn aisle and clipped him to the crossties. We each picked up a curry comb and set to work on Chief.

"So," I said as I massaged Chief's coat in circles. "When did you get Chief?" I asked Ty.

Ty looked up thoughtfully. "He was actually bred at Baldwin Ways. He was sired by Back in Black, one of our Olympic gold medalist jumpers. His dam is Raz, Razina actually, a dressage champion, won the silver medal in the Olympics a few years back. Chief's seven so I got him when I was about eleven."

"I think I remember seeing Razina in the Olympics, she's a dainty bay with a star right?"

"Yep."

"So did you train Chief yourself?" I asked as Ty picked up one of Chief's hooves to pick.

"Well seeing as I was only eleven I had some help but for the most part I tried to do everything on my own." Ty smiled at the memory.

"Yeah I remember trying to do everything when I first got Sunny. I ended up falling off before I asked for help," I laughed.

"Same here, well in a way. I'd had someone helping me all along with Chief but one day I decided to take Chief out into one of the jumping rings before Marc was ready. I faced Chief at a water jump and ended up lying in the water."

I laughed pretty hard at the image of a little Ty lying in the water portion of a water jump. "I'm sorry," I said after a minute when I noticed Ty was looking at me with a bemused expression on his face. "I just… it was a funny image in my head. That's all," I finally managed to say.

"Not really considering that it was only March," Ty added wryly. In a weird totally twisted way that only succeeded in making it all the more funny. Ty shook his head as he lifted the spotless, perfectly oiled saddle up onto Chief's back but I noticed the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

After a moment I stopped laughing and leaned back against the stall door watching as Ty deftly did up the straps and buckles on the bridle. A thought struck me, "Wait, are you entered in the show on Saturday?"

Ty looked up at me, "I was but I scratched."

"Oh okay."

"Why? Are you?" Ty asked me.

"Yeah," I responded slowly before I grinned, "Maybe this time I'll be able to win."

"You won last time," Ty remarked.

"Yeah because Chief went nuts and you were disqualified!" I exclaimed. "So, are you going to come? To the show I mean?" I asked trying to keep the hope out of my voice.

Ty looked up at the rafters. "I don't know…" he contemplated. "Unless you want me to come?"

I tried to shrug lightly and look like I could care less. "If you want…"

"Well let's see, no football, no races, no shows… I think I could fit you in," he said playfully.

"Well in that case," I said as he came up to me and put his hands on my waist.

"I'll be there," he said softly before he leaned down and his lips met mine. My arms snaked around his neck and I played with the back of his hair as he pushed me up against the stall door. Soon I felt the familiar and welcomed feeling of Ty's tongue along my bottom lip and I eagerly opened my mouth to let him in. He explored my mouth and I explored the dark fortress that was his. One of Ty's hands slipped around to the small of my back and pressed my hips up against his, making my back arch.

Final conclusion: Stables make very good places to make out with your boyfriend especially when the boyfriend in question is Ty Baldwin.

Than I felt something against my leg, and no it's not what you're thinking you perverts! It felt like something was vibrating… um, is there something I should know here? Apparently Ty felt it to sense he broke away from our serious lip lock and reached into his pocket taking out his silver RAZR. Oooooh, I so knew it was his phone.

I was disappointed that our mini make out session was over and judging by Ty's groan of annoyance he was to. He looked at the caller ID before flipping it and saying, "Hey dad what's up?"

I couldn't resist running my fingers threw Ty's hair, even as he talked to his dad. Sure it was a little weird to be in this position, Ty still had me pressed up against the stall door, while his dad was on the phone but… what his dad can't see won't hurt him.

Finally he got off of the phone and dropped it back into his jeans pocket. He looked down into my eyes and like I did every time I met those emerald green orbs I completely and utterly lost myself in them. "So you remember when my dad said he wanted to see Heartland sometime?"

"Yeah," I responded.

"Well turns out that 'sometime' is now."

"What?" I asked surprised. "He's coming now?"

"Guess so. He said he wants to see the place and the horses and hear about your methods. I told him that you were just about to work Chief and he said that he'd like to watch and that he could wait for a tour."

"Oh, so uh when is he coming?" Well I guess there won't be anymore nice little make outs.

"He said he was on his way and should be here in 2 minutes." Okay so we REALLY can't make out anymore more. Man, parents ruin _everything_.

Chief snorted and stamped his hoof on the ground behind Ty. Unfortunately, Ty let go of my waist and turned around. I stepped to his side and Chief bobbed his head up and down as if to say, "Let's go!"

"But you were going to ride Chief today!" I said disappointed, I'd been looking forward to getting to watch Ty and now I had a legitimate reason to stare at him while he did so. After all I _was_ supposed to be treating Chief.

"Yeah," Ty said clearly disappointed. "Well maybe he won't stay long. Let's go up to the ring anyway," he suggested.

"Yeah I guess so." I looked at Chief who was raring to go outside and get some exercise. "Chief needs some exercise anyway."

We led Chief up to one of the exercise arenas that had a medium height course of 12 jumps set up around it. Chief pricked his ears excitedly when he saw the jumps. That was the one thing I hadn't yet done with him! Jumping. So maybe he only hurt while jumping?

"I haven't jumped him yet!" I exclaimed to Ty.

"Really?" Ty asked incredulously. "Do you think there might be something wrong when he jumps?"

I shrugged, trying not to look too hopeful but I was really hoping that I'd finally figure out why Chief had acted odd at the show. "Guess we'll find out today."

"So are you going to get on him?" Ty asked me. "You can borrow my helmet," he tossed me his charcoal gray GPA helmet. I caught it and put it on my head where it proceeded to fall over my eyes.

"I see someone has quite the big head," I remarked jokingly as I pulled the helmet off.

Ty laughed. "Well…" he stopped and looked over my shoulder. "Dad's here," he said.

I turned around to and saw a gleaming black Hummer H3 (a/n: Hummers are so hot!) pulling into Heartland's driveways. After it parked Brad Baldwin jumped out of the driver's seat. He took off his sunglasses as he looked around that fields and barns. When he caught sight of Ty and I watching from a little ways off he waved and strode confidently over to us.

"Nice place you've got here Amy," Brad remarked as he reached us.

"Thank you Mr. Bal… I mean Brad."

Brad turned to Chief and patted his neck affectionately. Chief, in turn, whickered a greeting to Brad. "How's ol' Chiefy boy doing?"

"Well he's been fine so far, no indication of any trace of a problem," I said slowly hoping that he didn't freak out at this news like his wife had.

"Hm," was all Brad said but than he added, "Never thought there was anything wrong with him in the first place."

"You didn't?" I asked surprised.

"Of course I didn't. Chief's just not that kind of horse and I think that by now I know horses."

"So what do you think happened at the show that day?" I asked Brad.

"I couldn't say," Brad said. "But horses have their bad days, just like humans."

"True," I agreed.

"But of course Liz doesn't see it that way. Convinced there's something wrong with him she is."

"Well that's mom for you," Ty agreed as he rubbed the white star on Chief's forehead.

Brad nodded in agreement. "So, what were you going to do with him today?" Brad inquired looking at me intently.

I glanced at Ty. "Oh uh, I was just going to ride him, put him through his paces, you know. Maybe take him over a few jumps at the end."

There was a glint in Brad's eyes as he looked down at the helmet I was still holding. "Is that your helmet?"

I looked down at Ty's helmet. "Oh yeah, it's mine," I said quickly. I glanced at Ty and saw him trying to suppress a laugh. I put the helmet back on my head hoping that it would magically fit this time around. It didn't, it fell right over my eyes so that all I saw was the dark inside of the helmet. Ty gave up on trying to hold in his laughter and burst out laughing, loudly.

"Is this another of the techniques Heartland uses?" Brad said chuckling a little himself. "Riding blind?"

"Uh…" I took off the helmet and glanced at Ty who was all but doubled over laughing. It wasn't _that_ funny, was it? I crossed the distance between us in a few strides and hit him on the head with the helmet.

"Hey," Ty said looking up at me. "What was that for?" The corners of his lips were still lifted in a grin and he was still laughing a little.

"You have a big head," I said simply shoving the helmet into his hands.

"I know its Ty's helmet," Brad said. He took the helmet from Ty and pointed to one of the sides. "See? The Baldwin Ways emblem." Sure enough there it was, on the side of the helmet. Oh brother.

"Do you have _anything_ that _doesn't_ have this on it?" I said as I jabbed my thumb at the emblem.

"Well," Ty said. "Most of my barn stuff has it on it." He shrugged, "Mom's like the personalzation Nazi or something."

"So what were you really going to do today?" Brad asked questioningly peering at us both intently.

"Actually I was going to ride Chief," Ty put in.

Brad was silent for a minute. Oh god he's going to be so pissed off at me I. "So why aren't you on him yet?" huh? That was defiantly not what I was expecting.

Apparently Ty was just as surprised at Brad's reaction as I was if what he said next was any indication, "Huh? You don't care that I was going to get on him? Mom said…"

"I don't care," Brad cut in. "Remember when I told you that I didn't think there was anything wrong with him? I meant that. We can keep this our little secret, your mother need never know." He paused for a moment. "So go on, get on him. Show us all what you two can do together."

Ty shoved his helmet over his head and buckled the buckle under his chin. I went to unlatch the gate and held it open so that Ty could lead Chief through.

"Just remember that the saddle's the one that you wore at the show. It might have been pinching him so just take it easy at first and…"

Ty cut me off with a laugh, "I know," he assured me before he passed me and was inside the ring. I closed the gate behind him and latched it shut. I than went and stood next to Brad behind the fence. I leaned against the top fence post as I watched Ty lightly swing himself up into the saddle. He stood up in the stirrups for a moment before slowly lowering his weight into the saddle. Once he was sitting he didn't move for a moment. Chief swung his head up and craned his neck around to look up at Ty.

"Probably can't believe Ty's up there again," Brad said softly from next to me.

Soon Ty started walking Chief around the ring. However, walking was not good enough for Chief and he pranced about excitedly at having Ty riding him again. Ty sat deep in the saddle and soon had Chief collected and going smoothly. Ty moved Chief up to a trot using no visible signals. Ty posted smoothly around the ring for a few laps before he transitioned smoothly to a sitting trot. Chief seemed to float effortlessly around the sand in the ring and it was clear what a good pair the two were. Watching Ty riding Chief I felt almost like I had when I would watch mum do join-up with horses when I was little. Ty did figure eights, circles and serpentines at the trot, posting and sitting, and at the canter he performed a few perfectly executed flying lead changes.

After about fifteen minutes Ty circled Chief at the top of the ring and faced him towards the four foot vertical. If Ty was jumping Chief than obviously he didn't feel as though there was any problem. I trusted Ty's judgment that he wouldn't ever do anything if he thought it would hurt Chief.

As Chief approached the first jump he tried to rush it but Ty kept him steady and they flew over it perfectly. The same could be said for the other eleven jumps in the course.

As they cleared the last four and a half foot double with over a foot to spare Brad started clapping and I joined him.

Ty cantered Chief in a circle at the bottom of the ring by where we were and than slowed him back to a walk. Ty directed Chief over to where I was standing with Brad. Ty clapped Chief on the neck and Ty had a huge grin on his face. He dismounted in front of us.

"You looked great Ty!" Brad told his son proudly.

"That was amazing!" I exclaimed. "So are we ruling out that it was the saddle?" I asked even though I already knew the answer to that question. There was just no way that chief had been in any sort of physical pain during that little show.

Ty shook his head. "It's defiantly not the saddle," he confirmed as he unbuckled his helmet and took it off. He brushed the dark brown hair away from his eyes and said, "In fact he felt perfect, just like he always does." Ty frowned. "So what could have happened?"

"Like I said, horses have bad days to, just like us," Brad commented.

"I guess." Ty said uncertainly. "But Chief had been fine before the show and when we got there. It was just right before I went into the ring that he started to act up. It didn't feel like he was 'in a bad mood' and it feel like he was in pain. It felt like… I dunno. Like there nothing I could do to calm him down and he was in his own little world where something was preventing him from listening and doing things correctly. I shouldn't have even taken him into the ring, I should have just scratched," Ty said defeated as he played with Chief's silky bay mane.

"Maybe he ate something that upset his stomach?" Brad suggested.

"That's what I thought to," I commented. "I guess now that's our main cause."

**CIC- Commander In Chief**

_Saturday, the show_

"Hey Sunny," I said to my beautiful buckskin gelding as I walked into the trailer through the little door on the side. Sunny pricked his ears excitedly and whined, Sunny loved show days. I untied Sunny's lead rope and led him down the ramp that I had just lowered with Ty's help. Once out in the open Sunny held his head high and took in the bustling show grounds. I led him to the side of the trailer where Ty was standing and tied him to the hook on the side.

"Hey he looks great!" Ty commented as he took in Sunny's buckskin coat gleaming in the slight sunshine and braided mane and flowing tail.

"Thanks," I smiled happily. "Today's going to be a good day; I wanted him to look his best."

"Yeah. We should go sign you in and get your number," Ty said as he glanced at his watch.

"You're right," I said to him before turning back to Sunny. "I'll be right back, be a good boy," I told him. He whickered at me as if to say, "Am I ever anything but?"

I went with Ty up to the sign in table and signed in. The lady manning the sign in table gave me my number, which was 222, and told me that my class was due to start in 30 minutes and that I was to be the last competitor.

When we returned to Sunny he was swishing his tail and nibbling on some of the grass. Since I still had awhile left before I went into the ring I took Sunny over to the trough for some water.

There was someone else at the trough to. It was that guy Daniel Lawson and his horse, Burning Amber.

"Hey," I said casually as I made sure to keep Sunny a fair distance from the other horse since sometimes Sunny could be a little rude to other horses.

"What's up?" Ty seconded.

"Oh you know, this and that," Daniel answered. "So are you guys entered in the high junior jumpers?"

"I am," I said.

"I'm not," Ty said.

Daniel looked at Ty and said, "Oh right you had the fall a couple weeks ago right?" Ty nodded in confirmation and Daniel smiled. "Why aren't you competing this week? You seem to be fine."

"I am fine," Ty said. "I'll be back in a week or two."

"Oh that's good," Daniel said dully with a smile that seemed a little forced.

"So wha…" I started but abruptly stopped when Sunny snapped his teeth at Burning Amber and pinned his ears back. I stroked Sunny's neck. "Sorry about that," I said to Daniel. "Sometimes he does that to other horses." Sunny swished his tail angrily and threw up his head.

"Oh it's okay," Daniel said. "I understand."

"Sunny what's wrong?" I asked as he threw his head up again. I patted his neck and noticed that there was a patch of sweat forming there even though it wasn't a particularly hot day today. I dismissed his behavior for his normal antics and turned to Ty.

"Let's head back to the trailer," I said.

Ty looked at his watch, "Yeah you should start to get ready soon."

I turned Sunny around and started walking back towards my trailer when Daniel called out, "Good luck in the competition today!"

"Yeah thanks, you to," I called back distractedly as Sunny struck the ground with his front hoof and gave a little buck. "What's going on Sunny?" I asked softly as I tied him back to the side of the trailer.

Luckily, I had already groomed him so I only ran the soft brush over him to get any dust or dirt that had settled on him while traveling off. As I ran the brush over Sunny's hind quarters he stamped the ground with a back hoof and snorted. "Hey," I said softly as I stroked his neck soothingly. "What's going on Sunny?"

"What's going on?" Ty asked as he rejoined me with my saddle, saddle pads, girth and bridle slung over his arm.

I looked at him in confusion, "I don't know. Sunny's acting strange." As if to prove my point Sunny threw his head up into the air. I looked back at Ty, "I wouldn't worry about it though, sometimes he just gets like this," I tried to shrug it off.

"Okay…" Ty said like he didn't really believe that that was what was wrong.

Sunny stood quietly while I put the saddle on his back but when I reached under him stomach to take the girth Ty was passing to me he swung his head around and snapped his teeth in my direction. I dropped the girth back to the ground in shock; Sunny's never tried to bite me before.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed as I stood back up. I stroked Sunny's silky muzzle he seemed to calm down a little but I could still see a little of the whites of his eyes.

"Amy," Ty addressed me hesitantly. "This is exactly how Chief was acting before the last show."

I shook my head like it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. There was no way that Sunny was going to start acting like Chief had. "No. Before I got Sunny he was _very_ abused and sometimes has his moods. That's all this is. He will be fine when I get on him." I stressed my point.

"Well he's your horse so you know him best but I'm just saying that he's acting exactly the same way Chief was and you know what happened than."

I fastened the girth and this time Sunny didn't try to bite me. "See," I said facing Ty as I fastened the buckles. "He's already calming down."

"Maybe…" Ty trialed off and looked at Sunny skeptically.

I looked at my watch and was relived to see that it was time to go over to the warm up ring and warm Sunny up. I slipped off my sweatpants to reveal immaculate tan breeches, I took off my muck boots and zip up and buttoned my white show shirt over my white tank top and pulled on my gleaming, black leather high boots. I shrugged on my navy blue blazer and buttoned the silver buttons and slipped on my black leather gloves.

"Ready?" Ty asked me once I was all dressed.

"Yeah," I said as I grabbed my spotless, black velvet show helmet. I took a hold of Sunny's reins and led him forwards. He seemed to go willingly enough.

Once we got to the warm up ring I pulled down my stirrups and mounted. Sunny sidestepped when I sank my weight down into the saddle. "Shhh," I hushed him as I patted his neck. I walked around the ring a few times to settle him down. Eventually Sunny began to accept the bit and got his haunches underneath himself but I couldn't help but notice that he lacked his usual grace and style and confidence. I pushed him forwards into a trot and his usually smooth movements were choppy and disoriented. After Sunny was adequately warmed up I faced him towards the practice fence which was a two foot vertical. I had to steady him when he tried to rush the fence but we cleared it nevertheless. Upon our landing Sunny gave an angry swish of his tail.

After I rode a few more fences I dismounted and led Sunny over to where Ty was watching from the fence.

"Are you sure he's okay?" Ty asked again sounding concerned.

"Yeah," I tried to say lightly. But inside I was worried about what was going on with Sunny.

We headed over to the ring and watched the competitors before me compete. No one had a really impressive round except Daniel Lawson; he was currently in first place.

As Daniel finished his round I mounted back up onto Sunny who again sidestepped. I applied slight pressure to the reins and after a second he calmed down.

"Good luck," Ty said to me as Daniel soared over his last fence. The big, stocky horse he was riding moved with unusual grace for such a cumbersome animal. "Be careful," he added.

I smiled down at him. "Thanks Ty and don't worry, I'll be fine. Sunny would never hurt me."

"Not on purpose he wouldn't," Ty added. "Chief would never purposely hurt me either."

"And the next and final competitor in the high junior jumpers program is our last week's winner Amy Fleming on Sundance!" The announcer cried out and I push Sunny forward into the ring leaving Ty behind.

When I was in the ring the crowd exploded with applause and Sunny threw his head up and started a nervous canter at the noise. This confused me; Sunny had never had a problem with crowds and noise before. "It's okay Sunny boy," I said to him soothingly as I eased back down to a choppy walk. "That's just your fan crowd. Remember? You like them."

When the buzzer went off I pushed Sunny up into a canter that he was reluctant to take. He hollowed his back and threw his head up as I approached the first jump. Suddenly the five foot jumps looked daunting. Sunny tried to rush the fence but I managed to steady him. After we landed on the other side Sunny gave a small buck of protest and pounded up to the next jump. This time it took every ounce of strength I had in me to keep Sunny at a suitable pace. He cantered stiffly and gave a tremendous leap to get over the fence, slightly unseating me. Sunny's ears flattened against his head and he took advantage of my momentary lapse in concentration and attempted to snatch the reins away from me. He managed to grab the bit a little making the third jump worse than the other two.

As we rounded the bottom of the ring I attempted to sooth Sunny. "Come on Sunny, please!" I said exasperatedly as my soothing attempts failed to do any good. His ear wasn't even flickered back like it normally was listening to me. What was going _on_?

I saw Ty standing by the fence worriedly. He raised his eyebrows at me as if to say "What's going on?" I just shook my head in despair before I turned my attention back to my horse.

The next fence was a five foot double that was in the middle of the ring. I used my legs to turn Sunny and he gave a buck of distaste before he picked up a very fast pace. I couldn't move Sunny in a different direction and I couldn't pull him up. There was nothing I could do and I knew the best we could do for this fence was crash through it. I clutched a handful of Sunny's mane and held on with my legs. I was leaning low over Sunny's neck to try and distribute my weight evenly when he through his head up into the air. His neck connected with my face, specifically my noise and I felt dizzy.

I thought for sure that Sunny was just going to stop and refuse the fence, which I would have been very thankful for, but no such luck. Sunny jumped up into the air like a rabbit in front of the jump and I was jerked upwards with him loosing a stirrup in the process. I managed to stay in the saddle, barely, as the polls went flying everywhere. When Sunny's hooves hit the soft, sandy ground on the other side of the jump he lost his footing and I was tossed from his back sending the few polls still upright falling to the ground as I crashed through them heavily.

My head felt weird and I hurt everywhere, especially my back and my legs. The last thing I saw was Sunny bucking around the ring, exactly like Chief had been and Ty dashing across the sand towards me before the final poll gave way and I fell down flat on my back.

**A/n: **so there's chapter 10! I hope you liked it! It's pretty long to. I'll update sooner than this time. Review!


	12. Good news and bad news

**Author's Note**

I just found out I was accepted into the private school I want to go to next year so I'm really excited! So I am celebrating by writing another chapter! And as an added bonus I can get internet connection my computer again! AND they added videos for some of my FAVORITE songs on iTunes, which of course I have already bought! This is just like _the_ best day EVER! Now maybe Ty will come alive… the only bad thing is that I REALLY want to update 'The Peak' but I have to update this and my other story, Dirty Little Secret, first. Pouts life sucks…

Congrats to HorseLover20693 for being the first person to guess the whole plot! I won't tell you what it is incase there are some people who would rather not know but if you do want to know you can read the review she submitted for the last chapter or email me and I'll tell you. **A lot of you had the basic idea for what happened** **_BUT_** HorseLover20693 got everything that I was looking for. So for being the first person to figure out the plot I have dedicated this story to HorseLover20693! Review!

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely off of characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 11**

Ty's POV

_Show, Saturday _

The poles seemed to fall in slow motion as I watch Amy being thrown from Chief's back. For a moment I just stood there, clutching the fence, motionless, until the sickening crash of her body falling through the poles seemed to awaken me.

I quickly hopped the fence and ran across the sand as fast as I could with my feet sinking into the deep sand. I narrowly dodged Sundance, who was galloping and bucking around the room… _exactly like Chief was…_

Sure a small portion of my brain made the connection between Sunny and Chief but I quickly banished all thoughts other than making sure Amy was okay.

When I reached her I dropped to my knees at her side. She was really pale and her eyes were closed. There was a cut on her right temple that was sending a thin trail of glistening red blood cascading down the side of her face. There was a red and yellow stripped pole lying across her stomach and I quickly picked it up and tossed it aside.

"Amy," I mumbled. I shook her shoulders gently hoping that she'd wake up but my efforts were in vain as she didn't move.

A horrible, petrifying thought flitted across my mind for one torturous second. I look down and was relived to see her chest slowly rising and falling with every breath. Granted her breaths were shallow and not deep but she was breathing nonetheless and no matter what a breath was a breath.

"Oh god, please wake up," I pleaded with her still form in despair. I looked around anxiously and saw that a group of the show grounds veterinarians had managed to conceal a wild Sundance who was prancing between them nervously. One of the vets fumbled in his bag and produced a needle. He quickly administered it to Sundance in his neck and after a few minutes he settled down slightly but was still flashing the whites of his eyes. I could see the on spot emergency vehicle zooming down the paved road towards us, its sirens wailing full blast. The commotion caused more people to flock to the arena.

I looked back down at Amy, her eyes were still shut and she was as pale as ever. The only color in her face was the red blood running in rivulets down the right side of her face.

I gently touched the cheek that wasn't covered in blood, it was surprisingly cold. Well not cold but cooler that it usually was. I gave another feeble attempt at waking her up. "Please Amy I…"

I was cut off because just than the paramedics ran over carrying a stretcher between them. I stood up slowly and moved out of their way and watched as they lifted the still figure of my girlfriend of only a couple of weeks onto the stretcher.

She didn't move at all as they lifted her gently and placed her onto the stretcher. Once the straps were secured across her body they lifted the stretcher and jogged back to the ambulance that was waiting at the entrance to the arena. Without thinking I followed them. The paramedics loaded the stretcher and one strapped and oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

"Is she okay?" I asked quickly as they were about to close the door.

One of the paramedics stopped and turned to face me. "Most likely just a blow to the head, but we can't tell the full extent of her injuries until we get to the hospital. She'll be at Meadowville Park Hospital."

I nodded numbly. The door was closed in my face and the ambulance speed out of the fairgrounds, its sirens wailing and flashing red and yellow lights. I just stared after it for a moment.

When I was finally able to move again I took two steps towards the parking lot to get my car, I had come separate from Amy, but that I stopped and sprinted as fast as I could back towards the ring. I knew Amy would want to know about Sundance. I skidded to a halt at the arenas entrance gate. The vets were still trying to calm down Sunny. He was mostly calm by this point but he still threw his head up occasionally. It was like there was something making him act like this; there was something in his big brown eyes that assured me that he would never do something like that to Amy.

One of the vets approached me. "You must be Ty," he said. I was surprised that he knew who I was, well maybe I shouldn't have been so shocked seeing that practically everyone in the United States knew who I was, and looked at him questioningly. He laughed lightly but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm Scott Trewin, Lou's husband."

Immediately I understood. I shook my head and held out my hand, "Oh right, nice to meet you."

"Same to you," he said as he firmly shook my hand in his. "I'm also the chief veterinarian on duty today. Did you come with Amy?"

I shook my head again but this time it was for a totally different reason. "No, I drove separately, I just met her here."

"Oh well in that case we'll keep Sundance in the show grounds stables until someone is able to pick him up or I'll bring him over to Heartland later."

"Okay. Wait, could you do a blood test on him?" I asked quickly remembering Amy's suspicions that it had been something Chief ate that made him so wired; Sundance was acting the same so it was worth a try.

"Of course," Scott said professionally. "That would be the smart thing to do anyway. Is any particular reason you thought of it?" he looked interested and tilted his head slightly to the right.

"Oh," I said. I just wanted to go to the hospital and find out what had happened to Amy. "It's just a thought." I thought for a minute before deciding to open up a little more. "Last show the same thing happened with my horse, Commander In Chief."

"Right, right. I remember," Scott nodded.

"I was just wondering if maybe they were connected. Sundance and Chief's behavior I mean. Amy's been working with Chief and hasn't found anything that would have made him act the way he had, maybe there's something in a fertilizer that was used on the grass?"

"We'll take a blood test of him and get back to you as soon as possible. By the way, did they say what hospital they were taking her to? I'd like to let her family know what's happened."

"Oh right, uh the man said she was going to the Meadowville Park Hospital," I answered quickly.

"Alright. I'm assuming that's where you're headed now?"

"Yes," I said simply.

"Lou and her parents should be there shortly. I'll stop by later with the test results."

"Okay. Thank you," I said as I started to walk away.

"I hope she's okay," Scott called after me.

"So do I." I mumbled to myself, "So do I…"

As I walked parallel to the jumping arena to get to the parking lot I heard the announcer call out. "Entry number 222 has been disqualified. That is, Amy Fleming on Sundance have been disqualified due to an accident at fence number 4." He paused and than added, "This is the second week running that our previous week's winner has been knocked out of placing due to an unfortunate accident."

There were murmurs from the crowd as I passed the bleachers. I blocked it out and focused a head where I could see the rows of glistening white trailers parked side by side. Somewhere in there was Amy's trailer and my truck would be parked next to it.

"And the winner of today's high junior jumper competition is Daniel Lawson riding Burning Amber with no faults and a time of 1 minute 18 seconds!" there were applause as Daniel rode into the ring.

I turned around to see him riding into the ring on that big stocky horse. Burning Amber was more of carriage horse; she looked out of place besides the dainty Hanoverians, Thoroughbreds, Trakehners and Warm-bloods. Despite being around the purist and best bred of horses since I was born I do not think that a horse's pedigree and bloodlines are all that determine its fate or career path but they do play a key role. But there are things that are acceptable and not acceptable, even in the horse world and I do not see how this draft horse with feathers around its huge hooves could have beat out the nimble, springy, agile horses next to it. Burning Amber should be clumsy and awkward on her hooves and yet she managed the jumps with grace and ease that were uncharacteristically out of place on the heavey, cumbersome animal, it didn't make sense.

For the first time Daniel Lawson was actually smiling, it was a smile of pure triumph and glory. His eyes landed on me at my place at the top of the arena where I was still inching backwards. For a second I could have sworn that his bright eyes turned cold but than as quickly as it had come it was gone, replaced with a grin bigger than before. He flicked his crop against his mare's strawberry roan shoulder and she turned around leaving a straight and motionless back clad in a navy hunt jacket that had many patches sewn on it and looked worse for the wear facing me.

I jogged across the paved parking lot until I found my Escalade EXT. I jumped in and started the ignition. As I pulled out of the show grounds I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the coldness in Daniel's eyes reflected back towards me.

**Commander In Chief**

_Meadowville Park Hospital_

I rushed in threw the Emergency Room's sliding glass doors and walk, barely, to the receptionists desk.

A nurse looked up at me. "I'm here to see Amy Fleming," I said quickly. "How is she? Can I visit her?"

The nurse taped something into her computer and than looked back up at me. "She's in surgery right now to stop internal bleeding." She peered at me questioningly, "Are you family?"

"No, I'm her boyfriend," I answered back.

"I'm sorry but I can only confirm the specific details with her family. They have been contacted and should be here soon, feel free to wait," she gestured around at the hard plastic chairs that filled the room. There were only a few people sitting in them.

"Okay thanks," I said. I sat down in one of the chairs keeping my back stiff and straight. I lent my elbows on my knees and dropped my head into my hands. I let my thoughts fill my head,

_I'm so stupid! I saw what was happening with Sundance, he was acting the exact same way as Chief had been… if not more so. I could have convinced her to get off Sundance… no I should have! I can't believe I just let her ride into the ring, knowing full well what was happening! If anything happens to her I'll never forgive myself…_

"Ty?" I heard an anxious voice call out. I lifted my head wearily from my hands and looked in the direction of the voice. It was Marion, Amy's mom. She hurried over to where I was sitting followed by Tim, Lou, Alex and Jack. I stood up as they neared me. I was surprised when Amy's mom wrapped me in a warm hug but quickly hugged her back. When she let me go I saw that her face was tear stained and etched with worry.

"Do you know what's happening?" her dad asked. I could tell he was trying to be strong but his eyes were red and filled with worry and dread.

I sighed and rubbed a hand across my eyes. "Only that she'd in surgery to fix internal bleeding but they won't tell me anything else because I'm not family." I sat heavily back down in the chair.

"I'll go and check," Jack, Amy's grandfather, said quickly before heading of the receptionist's desk.

"What happened?" Marion asked quietly. "Scott only told us that there was a jumping accident and she hit the ground hard and that Sundance was pretty freaked out."

"Sunny was fine when we first got to the show grounds. After we signed Amy in and got her number we took Sunny to get a drink of water. That's when he started acting up. Amy insisted that he was just being himself, that sometimes he had these moods but it just reminded me so much of what happened to Chief. As she rode the course he just kept getting worse and worse. He took the fourth jump at too fast a pace and unevenly and crashed through it. Amy fell and crashed through the jump. Scott's doing a blood test," I added meekly.

Jack came just than and announced, "She was just removed from surgery where they stopped all internal bleeding. She's not in critical condition anymore and they're moving her to a private room. I was told a doctor would see us shortly."

We waited in silence for about 5 minutes. Everyone was too nervous to talk at all. Eventually a doctor came. He stopped in front of us and introduced himself, "Hi I'm Doctor Parsons, you're Amy Fleming's family, correct?"

"Yes," Tim answered. "I'm Tim, Amy's father, and this is my wife Marion, Amy's brother Alex and her grandfather Jack," Tim introduced everyone and they in turn all shook hands with Doctor Parsons.

"And you are…?" he asked finally, facing me.

"Ty Baldwin," I answered hoping that for once someone would pass over my name or at least he would have the decency to not say anything about it.

"You're not family," it was stated as a statement, not a question.

"Ty's Amy's boyfriend," Marion quickly saved me. "He's with us; he can hear what you have to say about my daughter's condition as well."

"Very well," the doctor nodded. "If you will follow me," he led us out of the waiting room and to an elevator that we took to the third floor. We walked down a white hallway before stopping outside of a door, room 314. "This is Amy's room," the doctor stated gesturing towards the door. "Now regarding her condition, I understand that she was involved with a riding accident at a show?"

"Yes sir," I confirmed.

He nodded his head and continued, "When she hit the ground she suffered intense trauma to the head. She has been operated on successfully and all internal bleeding has been stopped. She broke 3 ribs, needed 6 stitches to close up a cut on her right temple and has suffered a serious concussion. Her condition, however, has been stabilized and she should awake from the anesthesia in about 10 minutes or so. She will need to stay at the hospital tonight so we are able to monitor her head but should be able to return home tomorrow afternoon if all is well." He paused and checked his clipboard before adding quickly, "You may now see her if you like."

I waited until Amy's family had entered the room before following myself. Amy was lying on the white hospital bed hooked to various machines. There was a nurse tucking the white blankets around her still frame who smiled sympathetically at us before quietly exiting the room.

Marion moved next to Amy's bed and smoothed her hair back comfortingly. As much as I wanted to sit next to her, to smooth her hair like her mother was doing and to hold her hand I stayed in the back of the others figuring that I'd give her family some time with her first.

After about 20 minutes of mindless conversation Amy's eyes fluttered open. "Ow," she winced as she shifted on the bed. "What happened?" she asked groggily.

After everyone had given her a gentle hug I walked over to stand by her head, hearing me approach she tilted her head up a little and smiled softly at me but winced in pain. I smiled back feeling a tug at my heart. _I could have prevented this pain…_

"How are you feeling?" Marion asked Amy as she continued stroking her hair.

"Like crap. I'm sore and hurt all over and my head feels kind of funny." She paused and than asked again, "What happened?"

"You had an accident on Sundance at the show. Don't you remember sweetie?" her mom asked worriedly. She probably was scared Amy would have amnesia.

"Yeah…" Amy said slowly and than her eyes grew wide with horror. "Oh my god how's Sundance?"

"He was a bit wild for a bit," I started, "But Scott gave him a tranquilizer and he calmed down. I asked Scott to do a blood test on him."

"Good…" Amy said but she looked close to tears.

"What's wrong hon?" her dad asked her caringly.

"It's just that I didn't think this would happen! I just figured that Sunny was being his usual bratty self and that he would calm down when we got into the ring," a few tears trailed down cheeks that had regained some of their color.

"Amy it's not your fault," Marion soothed her, gently whipping away her tears. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen and you'd never purposefully put Sundance's health and safety on the line."

"But he was acting just like Chief had, Ty tried to tell me but I wouldn't listen. Now he might be hurt because I made the stupid choice to take him into the ring."

"Sundance is fine," a voice said from the door and everyone looked over to see Scott standing there. "How are you feeling though?"

"Not the best but I'll survive," Amy replied.

"Did you get the tests back yet?" I asked him.

"I did…"

"What did they say? How's Sunny? Is he okay?" Amy asked quickly sounding very worried for her horse.

Scott's face looked drained and he looked older than he really was. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Sundance did not injure himself in anyway except for a few scratches on his legs from where the poles hit."

"And the bad news…?" I asked slowly.

"Sundance's blood tests came back showing that he tested positive for a drug called _Rabidus Equus_…"

**A/n: **is that a real drug? I have no idea, as far as I know I just made it up. It means 'crazy horse' is Latin if you're wondering. It's short but it says what I want it to and gets across my point. Review!


	13. House rest? House ARREST!

**Authors Note**

I didn't really like the last chapter but you guys seemed to like it so it's all good. This chapter should be better and this story is now unofficially officially winding down. But there will be a good 5 more chapters, at the least. Basically it's reached the climax, or whatever you call it. But the problem still needs to be solved. Hehehehe! Review!

Everyone that's reading this should read 'The Peak'! I've just figured out the whole story and it's going to be AWESOME! Anyone like high speeds and ah-mazing cars and bad-boys? Of course you do! Who doesn't? READ!

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 12**

Amy's POV

_A week later_

"Mom," I whined as my mom steered me back to the living room. "I'm fine, really. It's been a week. I want to go see Sunny!"

Mom pushed me down onto the couch and handed me the remote control for the TV. "Amy you know the doctor said you should rest," she pointed out.

"But I have! For a whole _week_!" Damn the stupid doctors I'm sick of sitting around the house. It's like house arrest!

"Doctor Parsons said you need to stay in the house and rest for at least 10 days," she told me.

"It's already been 7," I groaned. I wasn't used to having to sit in the house all day, especially when there were barns full of horses right down the hill! And with the whole thing of Sunny being poisoned… argh.

"And you have 3 more to go," my mom said stubbornly, "When 10 days are over than you can go out."

"Mom it's not fair! I want to see Sunny."

"Amy I've told you everyday that Sundance is fine. The drug, _Rabidus Equus, _took its course and left. He's _fine_," she stressed.

"But…" I tried to protest.

"No buts," mom shushed me. "You can visit him in 3 days. Until than you are on house rest."

"More like house _ar_rest," I mumbled grumpily but from the stern look my mother gave me I'm guessing she heard.

"Whatever you may call it, it's staying. Now you can watch TV, go on the computer, do the work your schools sent over, read, anything that's _inside_ the house. You can make yourself something to eat. You can even sit in the backyard but no going down to the barns."

"Fine," I pouted.

"Amy, you're 16. I shouldn't have to remind you of something so simple everyday."

"Okay," I rolled my eyes. I know, petty but you try being caged up in the house for a week… all alone. Well except for when Ty's been here helping me with my 'homework'. Humph, that's what my mom thinks. Take that mo…

"Amy, are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Mom asked tiredly and I was yanked from my thoughts.

Apparently I wasn't. "Huh?"

Mom sighed. "I said that Ty was stopping by later to check on Chief. I'll send him up here later on, okay?"

"Fine."

"You might want to change your pants though," she suggested with a glance at my jeans.

"Why? There's nothing wrong with them." I looked down at my jeans. They were all ripped up at the knees and had a few tears on the thighs. They were old and comfortable. I loved them but my mom hated them. Couple that with my black Billabong sweatshirt and it was all good.

"You know I don't like those jeans Ames." See? Told you she hated them. "I thought you were going to throw them away?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "As you said, I'm not _going_ anywhere."

"I know it's no fun being cooped up in here all day," mom said and I snorted. "But it's almost over and we don't want to risk you getting hurt even more than you already are."

"I'm fine!" I said exasperatedly. I shook my head around to prove my point… okay so it only hurt a little but I'm still conscious! That's a major plus.

"We're not taking any chances," mom said sternly. Than she reached over and ruffled my hair succeeding in making even more of it come loose from my already messy pony-tail. "Have fun!" she said brightly before she walked out of the room. I heard the door close and her footsteps crunching on the gravel of the drive. And what was I doing? I was left behind, slumped on the living room couch with hair in my face. I blew at my hair and a piece fluttered up briefly before landing on my nose again.

After I got my hair into a semi okay pony-tail I flipped on the TV. Jimmy Newtron? Ha-ha, nope. Full House? Nuh huh, that show is so over. The Suit Life of Zach and Cody? Maybe, it's funny. Clifford the Big Red Dog? Yeah, I'm not in Kindergarten. I don't need to learn about sharing and friends. Jerry Springer? Dr. Phil? What am I? Like 50? ...Kids Next Door…? The Suit Life it is! Damn why is there nothing on the TV during the day? These people that make up the TV schedule should really take into thought that there are people, other that 2 year olds or parents with nothing to do, home during the day. And to top it off the episode of The Suite Life of Zach and Cody was the one where there's the horse, Tippy, loose in the hotel.

Half an hour later I clicked off the TV and trudged into the kitchen. After ransacking every cupboard, drawer and cabinet for something to eat I came to the conclusion that no one in my house has been grocery shopping for a week, at least. Why'd the lady that normally cooks for us have to take the week off to go vacationing in Bermuda? We're all going to starve…

This house is making me crazy!

Finally I decided that I should just go outside, in the backyard of course. I slid open the sliding glass door adjacent to the kitchen and walked out onto the lavish patio that my mom is so proud of. I jumped down the 3 stairs leading up to the porch and winced as I jarred my still bruised side. I walked down the sweeping, immaculate green lawn towards the pool. I only stopped under one of the big trees bordering the yard and grabbed a stick. I sat down on the edge of the pool with my legs Indian style. I rested my arm on my leg and propped my head up on my hand. I absently dragged the stick threw the water, swirling around a lone leaf that was floating in the crystal clear water.

My life is just so interesting…

I thought back to the show and when Scott told us that Sundance had tested Positive for _Rabidus Equus_. _Rabidus Equus_ is, apparently, an old drug that used to be quite popular in horse racingwhich would explain why Ty had obviously heard of it before. Upon its arrival in the horse world it was used as a vitamin for horses, almost like a steroid that helped horses perform at a higher level. But it was used by vets as a medication for some diseases. The drug became quite common on the race track and was eventually banned when it began to exhibit side effects such as, restlessness, bucking, nervousness and anxiety. _Rabidus Equus _is a drug that works shockingly fast and is incredibly rare and very hard to get seeing as it is illegal and the penalty for having it is sever. The drug usually passes through the horses system in an hour or two leaving the animal as its normal self. But its quick passing time meant that you had to work fast if you had any hopes of catching a trace of it in the horses' blood stream. Unless given too frequently or in large doses it doesn't cause any harm to come to the horse… the damage a horse could do while under the effects of _Rabidus Equus_ is, however, sever. All of this came into play and earned the drug the name _Rabidus Equus_ or 'Crazy Horse' in Latin.

But the question was how did Sunny ingest the _Rabidus Equus_? Was there some on the ground? Maybe the drug has a base from a plant that was growing by my trailer. But the most likely possibility was that someone had given it to Sunny. But that was absurd, who would do that? I've only lived in Virginia for a couple months; I hardly think that that's enough time for someone to develop a grudge on me.

"Hey," I heard a deep voice say behind me and I whipped around in surprise to see Ty standing in back of me.

"Hi," I smiled up at him.

"What are you doing down here?"

I laughed, "What else am I going to do? I'm on house arrest."

"Not quite," Ty grinned down at me mischievously. "I've been here haven't I?"

"Yes, that's been the best part of all of this." I sighed and looked back at the water.

Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me up to my feet. I wobbled a bit and Ty's arm went around my waist to steady me.

Before I had time to comprehend what was happening Ty's lips were on mine and I felt the familiar sensation of his tongue on my bottom lip. I granted him access without hesitation. Ty had a strong hand on either side of my waist and was holding me close up against him. My arms moved around his broad shoulders and I ran my fingers through his silky hair. One of Ty's hands drifted from its place on my hip and gravitated towards the small of my back. I moaned in anticipation and hope that said hand might just happen to slip up under my shirt. I felt Ty's lips curve up into a smile against mine but instead he broke our contact. I groaned in frustration.

"Come," Ty said as he picked up my hand and led me over to the lounge area next to the pool. With a grin he sat down on a couch like thing that had dark wooden legs and was covered in dark red pillows and cushions and pulled me down onto his lap. I snuggled up against his hard chest and one of his arm snaked around my back, holding me in place, while one of mine went around his neck. "So…"

"So what?" I murmured against the material of his jacket.

"So… why are you out here again?" he asked me again.

I sat up straighter and said, "There's nothing to do," I shrugged.

"How are you feeling?" Ty asked sounding concerned.

"Fine," I answered truthfully. "My side's still a little bruised but otherwise I'm fine."

"That's good," he said softly as he began kissing my neck.

Oooooh that felt so good… I was in danger of loosing myself in him again, not that that would be so bad. But I had to ask him something first. "Ty?"

"Hmm?" he murmured against my neck. This is so not fair…

"I…" I started to say but than his lips met a really sensitive part of my neck, right under my ear by my jaw, and I officially lost my self in the sensations and moaned embarrassingly loud.

"Were you saying something?" Ty asked me jokingly after he had trailed a path of blazing hot kisses along my jaw. When his eyes met mine I noticed that the twin emeralds were glinting and twinkling (a/n: I hate the word 'twinkling', especially when used in context with Ty… bleck, oh well) with mischievousness. My fingers laced themselves through his thick, brown hair before I pulled his head down to mine. His soft, luscious lips crashed against mine and I was swimming. Almost immediately I felt Ty's tongue running along my bottom lip and I opened my mouth eagerly and let him explore while I did the same to him. (a/n: I CAN'T WRITE THIS! AAAAAAAAAAAAH! Gag this is horrible, I'm more of an action kind of girl not… _this_… -whimpers- save me, this one paragraph took me like 30 minutes to write! I kept stopping and drawing on my desk with sharpie every other word! I now have a big, yet colorful, blob on my desk that looks strangely like that Cingular guy, Motto or whatever…)

"Ugh get a room!" A young boy's voice exclaimed disgustedly. (a/n: this is me tactfully skipping anything of _that_ variety that I'd otherwise explain. Make it up, use your imagination) I put my hands on Ty's hard chest and pushed him off of me, when did I end up lying on the couch flat on my back with him on top of me? Ty shifted his weight off of me and sat up, regrettably his hand slipped out of my sweatshirt, where he had been running his nimble fingers along the skin just on top of the waist band of my jeans. Man, what a couple fingers can do to a girl… ahem.

Alex. Yes, there was my 12 year old brother standing by the side of the pool with a few of his friends… watching me make out with my boyfriend. Can anyone say awkward? There were two other guys with him and two girls; I recognized them all as friends of Alex's that he had brought home from school several times before, I don't remember their names though. They were all Alex's age.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Last I checked this was a free house and I could go where ever I wanted," Alex oh so very artfully retorted.

"Shouldn't you be working Artemis?" I asked referring to his horse, a dapple gray Hanoverian. "You know, for the show next week?" Alex also competed in jumping just in the lower classes with the lower fences.

"Mom said to give Arty the day off," Alex replied. I looked at him curiously. Alex noticed my confusion and clarified. "I took him on the trails yesterday and did a bunch of cross country. Remember?"

"No," I replied flatly. "I'm not aloud to leave the house. Remember?" I mimicked him.

"Oh right." Alex looked Ty and I up and down slyly. "Didn't look like you were having a bad time though," he said 'innocently'.

"Alex," I said warningly. "Go away."

"I'm going, I'm going," Alex said as he started to walk back up to the house, his friends in tow. He stopped halfway up the lawn and yelled, "Remember to use protection kids!" before bursting into laughter, his friends joined him. What are they teaching 6th graders in school these days? "You learn some valuable things in health class, I just never thought I'd have to tell my 16-year-old sister about them!" he yelled out. Oh I guess that's my answer.

I blushed madly and attempted to sink into the lounge.

"Don't be embarrassed Ames!" Apparently Alex wasn't done humiliating me just yet. "Mrs. Crandle said that it's natural and that everyone does _it_, even our grandparents still do _it_!" (a/n: ew health class brings back some nasty memories… oh my god I have health class next Monday… for 6 weeks… save me…)

Oh my god… can you just say EW! I so didn't want to know that.

To make it worse I heard one of the girls in Alex's group say in a mock stage whisper, "Hey wasn't that Ty Baldwin?"

"Eh me god!" the other girl squealed and I flinched at the high, piercing sound. "You're so right Lexi! He is _so_ hot!"

"Totally," the first girl, apparently here name is Lexi, agreed with her friend.

"Dude," one of the guys said. "Forget about rich boy, what about your sister Al?"

"Amy?" I heard Alex say. I could almost see him wrinkling his noise just like he does every time he's disgusted. "Are you ser…"

"Alex go AWAY!" I yelled loudly and heard their feet scampering up the deck and the door sliding closed. "Oh my god that was so embarrassing," I groaned once they were gone. "I'm so sorry," I said to Ty. I expected him to be mad or at the very least a little embarrassed but oh no! What was he doing? Shaking with laughter is what he was doing.

"S-sorry!" Ty managed to sputter out between laughs when he caught me looking at him in bewilderment. He was almost doubled over from laughing so hard, was it really that funny? Frankly I was mortified. After his laughs had subdued he looked me straight in the face and with his face kept poker straight he said, "Well it looks like I've got myself a fan club," before he was overcome with laughter again. I snorted, okay so it was funny. Soon we were both laughing our heads off. "You've got one to," Ty added.

I hit him in the arm. "Knock it off 'Rich Boy'!"

That just succeeded in sending us into fresh peals of laughter. I clutched my side in pain from all the laughing we were doing. Freshly mended broken ribs and this much laughing defiantly does not agree with each other.

After a few minutes we calmed down. I turned to a still chuckling Ty and said, "So…" I trailed off and shook my head at the fact that he was still laughing.

"So what?" now where have I heard this conversation before?

"So," I said again. "When are you taking Chief back to your place?"

"Oh I don't know," Ty said looking thoughtful. "I suppose it's pretty safe to determine that Chief acted under the influence of _Rabidus Equus _at this point and that it was not because of any underlying problem but…" Ty sighed and looked up at the sky that was now blanketed with ominous gray clouds; we were defiantly going to get a storm later on. A sudden breeze blew across the yard sending gusts of hot, balmy air in our direction. "It looks like we're going to get a pretty big storm," Ty commented as he pushed the hair the wind had blown across his face out of his eyes.

"Yeah," I agreed with him as I heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. "Maybe we should finish our conversation inside?" I suggested.

"Good idea," Ty agreed and we both started walking leisurely up the large lawn hand in hand. Suddenly I felt splashes of water on my face and noticed that it was starting to rain, and pretty hard at that. "Hurry up!" Ty grabbed my hand and started running towards the house as the rain started coming down harder. We pounded up the porch stairs and barged through the door just as a huge crash of thunder echoed over head. We emerged into the kitchen to see Alex and his friends sitting at the table talking. When we entered they looked up at us.

Alex grinned at the sight of us slightly wet and damp and covered in spots from the rain. "What's up?" is all he said however, which I was thankful for.

"It's raining," I stated obviously as the sound of the rain hitting the roof increased and two cracks of thunder crashed overhead and caused me to jump a little.

"That it is," Alex agreed. He turned back to the conversation he had been having with his friends before we came in and Ty and I headed out of the room and into the living room.

Ty sat in one of the big, comfy armchairs and pulled me down onto his lap. I put my legs over one of the arms of the chair and leaned against his solid chest. "So…" I said.

"So what?" Ty said without thinking. He shook his head and grinned, "We really need to stop doing that."

"Definitely," I agreed. "But what were you saying before?" Ty looked at me in a confused manner and I clarified. "You know about Chief and taking him home all that stuff."

"Oh right," Ty said. "Uh I told my mom about what happened to you and Sunny and what Scott's diagnoses was. I told her that Sunny's behavior had been exactly like Chief's and that it was pretty likely that Chief had also somehow ingested the drug."

"And?" I prodded. "What did she say?"

"She said that unless I could prove that that is what happened to Chief than he can't come back to Baldwin Ways." He shrugged.

"What?" I asked shocked. "Didn't you tell her that Chief has been perfect here? That he doesn't have any problem at all?"

"Of course I did," Ty said. "But she didn't listen; she just said that he was dangerous and unpredictable. Than dad told her that he watched me ride him last week and that we had gone perfectly…"

"Oh no," I said regretfully. "What happened?"

"She flipped out," Ty concluded. "She said that she had given very strict and clear orders that I was not to get on him until he was cured." He absently massaged little circles into my back… oh man did that feel good… Ty continued, "Dad told her that Chief was fine and that nothing happened but it didn't do anything."

"So I guess Chief's staying here awhile longer?" I asked.

"Yeah I guess," Ty sighed. He looked up and grinned at me, "Well at least it gives me an excuse to come over here and see you."

I smiled back. "True," I nodded. "But seriously, how do you think they ingested the _Rabidus Equus_?" I voiced the question that had been bothering me since Scott had told us the news about Sunny in the hospital a week ago.

"I have no idea," Ty sighed tiredly, like he had already thought about this a million times over and hadn't come up with anything logical, just like I have. "I've heard of _Rabidus Equus_ before from being around racetracks and racehorses all my life so I know something about it. The root of _Rabidus Equus_ is derived from a base of a plant called Deadly Nightshade (a/n: this is a real thing but forget all the scientific stuff and just go with what I say, I'm not in the mood for research at the moment, some of it is right though. Sorry if it's confusing). It's a plant that has little black bulbs that look like berries that are surrounded by small dark colored flowers and grows on a vine."

I nodded in recognition of the name. "I've heard of it." At Heartland we use a lot of alternative natural remedies so I have I pretty wide range of knowledge on that and other plants.

"Okay so than you'll know that Nightshade is extremely poisonous."

"Yeah."

"It's made up of three major things, tropane, jimsonweed, and pyridine. Some of which are also found in tobacco and steroids. Now there are many different types of Nightshade but the kind that I'm guessing the horses came in contact with is the one that used to be so common on the racetrack. (a/n: most of it will now be made up) This version contains a high amount of steroids and a little marijuana leaf added to the original composition of the berry. That is why it was called a vitamin for horses before technology was good enough to find out what was really in it. When _Rabidus Equus _was first starting to be used it was safer but as time went on more marijuana leaf was added. The resulting affect was a horse that was strong and fast but somewhat crazy at the same time." Ty paused and looked at me. "Got it so far?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "But didn't you say it was highly poisonous?"

"I did," Ty nodded. (a/n: this next bit is actually true) "You see, the berries, when not yet fully ripened are the most poisonous while the fully ripe berries are not as much so. The berries used in the drug or ones that are almost fully ripened. (a/n: and again it is now made up) Keeping in mind that the purpose of the drug is not to kill and that even the ripe berries have some effects on the horse."

"Oh okay," I said in understanding. "So how is the drug formed than?"

"Well the berries are taken and the juices are squeezed from them before being mixed with marijuana leaf powder and a steroid. To add emphasis to the affect the drug has on the horses speed, strength and stamina oats are added to the mixture. When completed the drug is a thick, pasty mixture. The drug is usually administered to the horse through the means of a treat. Apple slices or carrot or peppermint would be added and molded into a horse treat."

"So the horse would just think they are getting a treat?" I comprehended what he was telling me.

"Exactly and the smell of the drugs is covered by the smell of the apple or whatever is added and it gives it a good flavor."

"So how do you think Sunny and Chief got…" I was cut of by a crake of thunder that was louder than any of the others. I jumped a little in Ty's lap and his arms went around my waist reassuringly and protectively. The rain was pounding on the windows and it had suddenly gotten very dark outside. As I was looking out of the window an intense bolt of lightning, that almost seemed to touch the ground, lit up the horizon, illuminating that outline of the forest swaying in the wind. "Okay so how do you think Sunny and Chief got the drug than?" I repeated.

"The only thing I could think of is that someone fed it to them," Ty said.

"That's what I though to," I seconded. "But isn't _Rabidus Equus _really hard to get?"

"Yeah it is. Ever since it was made illegal it has been in scarce amounts because of the fines and punishments the person violating the law on it are so intense. But if you want it and you know where to find it you can get it. Though it wouldn't come cheap."

"But who would want to poison Sunny and Chief?" I asked in confusion.

"I don't know that either," Ty said sounding just as lost as I felt.

"Maybe someone at the show?" I suggested. "Well duh that's obvious," I reprimanded myself as I processed my words. Ty laughed and I felt it reverberate through his chest. "Someone in our class no doubt or someone who has an in with one of the other riders and wants them to win."

"Yeah," Ty said and he looked lost in thought.

"Was there anything happening that was suspicious at the show last week? Anyone acting strange that you noticed?" I asked.

"Wait," Ty said suddenly. "It was right after we got your number and signed you in that Sunny started acting different, right?"

"Right," I affirmed. "And than we went to the water trough to get Sunny a drink," I tried to remember every detail of the day. "The only other person there was Daniel…" I frowned. "You don't think it was him do you?"

"I just remembered," Ty said after a moment before turning eagerly towards me. "After the paramedics came and took you to the hospital the judge announced the winners. Daniel won and I swear it was the first time I've ever seen him actually smile or seem remotely happy, and I've been showing in the same classes as him for years. I don't know if I imagined it or not but when he saw me his eyes seemed to harden."

I was silent as I thought over this information. Suddenly I remembered more to, "At the water trough Daniel seemed unusually excited and cheerful and than when he said he hoped you were okay he seemed to do it out of spite. And when he asked if you were showing that day…" I trailed off as I remembered the glint I had seen in Daniel's eyes as he spoke to Ty.

We were silent for a moment. I turned my heads towards Ty and met his gaze. "It was him," he said softly.

Just than the phone rang shrilly from next to our chair and I reached over to grab it. "Hello?" I said into it.

"Amy?" My mom's frantic voice cut through the phone.

"Hey mom, what's up?" I asked in concern at the sound of her voice.

"Amy," the static coming through the phone made it difficult for me to hear her. "Listen to me. There's a to…" the phone went dead. No static, no nothing.

"Hello?" I asked even though I knew that she wasn't there anymore. I hung the phone up slowly.

"What happened?" Ty asked in concern as he came and stood next to me.

"That was my mom," I said slowly. "The phone went dead before she could tell me whatever she wanted to say though…" I listened to the wind howling outside. It was much worse than before. There was the noise of various objects of debris hitting the roof and the sides of the house. The rain was no coming down harder.

I was about to say something to Ty when a new noise started up. It sounding like a train, a train that was getting closer and closer by the second. I looked out of the window but it was too dark to see anything. I looked up at Ty. He was standing frozen on the spot. "What…" I started to say but was cut off when Ty was suddenly all action.

"Everyone into the basement!" he yelled in a commanding voice and not 5 seconds later Alex and his four friends were all standing in the doorway.

"What's going on?" Alex asked in confusion.

The howling got louder and there was a blast of thunder that seemed to cause the whole house to shake.

"Everyone into the basement!" he instructed. "NOW! It's a tornado!"

**a/n: **well that certainly didn't go as planned… maybe I'm not as close to the end as I had originally thought. I don't know what's going to happen though so it would help if you gave me some ideas! Hope you liked it, REVIEW!


	14. News report

**Author Note**

Sorry for the long wait. My laptop totally just died –it wont's even turn on! - And I've been sick. So sorry that this chapter is short and not that great but it was the best I could do.

I think I said this at the end of the last chapter but I'll say it again anyway, I was not planning for there to be a tornado in this story so consequently anything that happens in this chapter was not originally planned on. Some of you readers may not like the outcome of this chapter but hope you like it anyway. But the good news in all of this is that I'm not really that close to being finished with this story yet. Review! –Steph

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 13**

"What?" I asked slowly.

Ty looked at me with a look of pure panic across his face. "It's a tornado! We have to get into the basement, _now_," he stressed his point.

Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind him as Alex ran off down the hall to the door that led to our basement. The noise of the wind from outside was bordering on unbearable when Ty slammed the door behind us and came pounding down the stairs. We were in the main room of basement which had recently been painted and was now fully furnished.

Alex walked stiffly over to a door on the side of the room that led to a separate smaller room that had been dubbed 'the Tornado Room' by mom and dad. Once we were inside 'The Tornado Room' everyone sat with their backs on the wall.

Ty pulled me down next to him and I pressed myself as close to him as I could. I looked over to where Alex and his friends were. They were huddled together in a little group. Alex looked terrified and was hugging his knees to his chest. I gave Ty's knee a light squeeze before I crept over to Alex.

I sat next to him and said, "Are you okay?"

I don't know if he heard me or not over the noise from outside but he seemed to get the meaning of what I was trying to say and nodded his head in response. His eyes, however, gave him away. In England we don't have tornadoes so we've never experienced this before. I looked sympathetically at my little brother, I shared in his fear. I gave him a hug of reassurance and was remotely surprised when I felt him return the hug. But as annoying as he is, early today is a perfect example of that in fact, I guess he's still my brother and that well… as much as everyone hates to admit that they love their brother or sister I do love Alex. Weird episodes aside he's actually pretty cool, in a weird little kid kind of way.

I crawled back over to Ty and he put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to him. I lent my head on his broad shoulder; feeling reassured that all would be well in the end. Ty just made me feel that way, made me feel safe, protected and treasured.

Since talking was virtually impossible with the noise from the storm raging right outside the wall we were leaning on we just listened in silence. The storm raged on, the noise growing every second. It was a roaring noise that sounded like a train… a train that was getting closer… and closer… and closer. Soon the noise was unbearable and the sound of the wind whipping around the house sounded like it was going to tear the house apart. I put my arms around Ty's strong shoulders and buried my head in his chest. I concentrated on the rhythmic rhythm of his chest rising and falling with every breath that he took and the thump of his heart beating against his chest. His arms encircled my slender waist and he secured my body to his, like he was never going to let go.

When the 'train' sounded as though it could get no closer the roaring suddenly diminished. All that was left was the sound of rain pouring onto the roof and slapping against the windows. I took my head out of Ty's chest and looked around nervously. Suddenly there was a tremendous crash in the distance and I screamed in shock. I all but jumped on top of Ty but he didn't seem to mind, he just pulled me closer to him.

As I tried to steady my racing heart a horrible thought struck me: what had happened to my house? To Heartland? What about the horses? Sunny and Chief and all the others. What about… what about mom and dad and Lou and all of the workers here at Heartland? I shook all worries I had from my head. Everyone was fine. They just had to be.

We waited about five minutes. Ty said, "Maybe we should go up." His deep voice rumbled through his chest, vibrating against my cheek comfortingly. He untangled my arms from around him and stood up slowly. He reached down a hand and pulled me shakily to my feet.

Suddenly there was a crashing noise above us and I jumped, into Ty… again. There was the sound of feet pounding down the basement stairs and than the door flew open, sending light into our dark little room. It was dad and Lou.

"Is everyone okay?" Dad asked, sounding worried and stressed out.

"Ye-yeah," I answered in a shaky voice. Dad and Lou came over and wrapped Alex and I in a big hug. Once they let us go we went back upstairs and into the kitchen. All of Alex's friends used their cell phones and called their parents, letting them know that they were okay.

Than I noticed the one person that wasn't with dad or Lou and who I had thought would have been here. "Dad, where's mom?"

Dad turned to face me. "I don't know sweetie. She's probably down at the barn assessing the damage with the others."

"Damage?" I asked fearfully. "What happened?"

"A tree went through the roof of one of the barns," dad said. So that was the crashing noise that we heard.

"Which barn?" I asked slowly.

"The one with all the show horses," Lou answered and I felt my heart sink. But not before it thudded against my chest in horror. Chief was in that barn. Lou's words seemed to catch Ty's attention to and he turned to face us. Lou seemed to notice the expression on both of our faces and quickly added, "No no no. The tree fell through at the end of the barn. I'm not sure if any of the horses were injured, that's what's being checked now, but I know that Chief's stall is closer to the front of the barn."

I glanced over at Ty and saw that he looked relived, so did I. He opened his mouth and looked like he was about to say something but he stopped and reached into his pocket, fishing out his cell phone. He glanced at the caller ID screen on the front of his silver RAZR. "Sorry, I should take this," he said to us before he flipped it opened and held it to his ear. "Hey mom are…" I guess his mom cut him off. "Yeah mom I'm fine. What about you guys?" he paused, seemingly listening to whatever his mom was saying to him. "Heartland, with Amy," he added. "Mom stop, this isn't the time," he said as he rubbed a hand tiredly across his eyes. I shifted uncomfortably, I can just imagine what she was saying to him. "I'm fine mom, positive. What happened where you are? The farm? The horses?" After a moment of listening to his mom he said, "Well that's good," clearly sounding relived. "I'll be home soon… an hour or two maybe." Here he paused again. "Okay mom, see you soon." Than he snapped the phone shut and dropped it back into his jeans pocket.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him.

He turned his head towards me and flashed on of those smiles of his. "Well everyone's okay and there's no major damage. So yeah, everything's okay at home."

"Good…" I trailed off as dad started talking to Alex and his friends.

"Feel free to stay here as long as you want," dad offered the group of teenagers. "I'm going to head back down to the stables but you guys are free to do whatever you want around here." He paused and his face became serious before he continued. "Just be careful. If the storm picks up again get right back into the basement. You hear me?" Alex and his four friends all nodded their heads. Dad turned back towards Lou, Ty and I. "Are you guys going to come?"

"Yeah," Lou nodded her head in response. "I'll head home once the storm dies down some more."

"I'll help with the horses," I offered and dad nodded gratefully.

"I can help too Mr. Fleming," Ty offered graciously. "I shouldn't try driving back home for a little while yet."

"Okay that would be great. Thank you Ty," Ty just nodded his head in a silent response. "You can check out Chief, I think there was some trouble in getting him out of his stall."

Ty smiled wryly at that. "He's never been overly fond of tornadoes."

"Well I could certainly live without them," dad said tersely. There was something worrying him but I couldn't tell what it was and before I could ask him about he turned and walked back towards the front door. With a final farewell to Alex Lou followed dad and than Ty and I followed.

Once we were outside I realized that it was sill raining pretty good out. I was about to go back into the house for raincoats and flashlights but than I noticed the commotion down at the barn. Dad started running down the driveway to the barn, Lou close behind him. Raincoats forgotten I quickly followed, Ty right behind me.

As we got closer to the barn I saw the full extent of the damage. Seems like good old father somewhat down played what happened. The tree was this monstrous tree that had been right on the edge of the barn. It was completely ripped out of the ground, the roots hanging in the air. The tree hadn't yet completely crashed though the barns roof yet but it was close. The frightened whinnies pierced through the still air around the barn. Stable hands were leading horse after horse out of the damaged barn and after buckling New Zealand blankets on all of them they were let out into one of the paddocks.

Chief was not among any of the horses coming out of the barn. Suddenly there were shouts inside the barn, "Whoa boy!" "It's okay!" "WHOA!"

I looked around, dad and Lou had disappeared to somewhere. I heard Ty groan before he dashed of to the entrance to the damaged barn. I followed close behind him. When we entered the barn I saw that most of the horses had already been removed from the premises and at the end of the barn there were branches sticking through the roof and it only looked like a matter of time before the whole thing gave away. There was a group of grooms gathered around one stall, Chief's.

The rule of no running in the barn was thrown carelessly aside as I sprinted down the aisle next to Ty. We pushed through the group that had congregated in front of Chief's stall. Ty grabbed the leather lead rope that was hanging off of Chief's door. He leaned against the door and his eyes swept critically over Chief.

Chief's head was in the air and he was prancing around nervously. The whites of his eyes glowed surprisingly bright in the dark barn. There were patches of sweat breaking out across his bay coat.

Ty slid back the lock opened the stall door and slowly entered the stall. Chief snorted and backed into the corner of his stall as he eyed Ty warily. Ty stopped and just stood there for a moment. Chief seemed to calm down once he realized that it was just Ty, his best friend, and lowered his head a bit.

Ty smiled softly and took a step closer to the quivering horse. He reached out to touch Chief's neck when suddenly there was a loud, ominous creak from the roof at the far end of the barn. Chief, in surprise and fear, reared up high into the air, his hooves striking the air. My breath caught in my throat and I found myself incapable of words as those lethal hooves came deadly close to Ty's head. Ty managed to duck out of the way just in time. When Chief's hooves hit the ground Ty bounded over to him and clipped the lead rope to his halter. Chief looked surprised at first but when Ty started talking to him soothingly he calmed down. He stood there, in the middle of his stall with his leg splayed apart, nostrils flaring and quivering for a few minutes.

"Can I have Chief's blanket?" Ty asked softly.

I grabbed the heavy, dark green blanket off of the blanket rack on the side of the stall and opened the latch. I slowly walked into the stall and Chief's head flew into the air when he caught sight of me walking towards him with the blanket in my arms. Ty stroked his neck and Chief remained calm as I gently placed the blanket across his back and reached under his stomach to clip the buckles into place. "There," I said as I stood up after buckling the straps around Chief's powerful hind legs.

Chief walked stiffly but somewhat calmly besides Ty as he led him out of the stall.

"Are all the other horses out?" I asked Andrew, one of the grooms, as I closed the stall door behind Chief.

"Yes, they're all out and in the field," Andrew nodded on response to my question.

"Good," I said briefly before following Ty out of the barn. I opened the gate to the pasture for him and he led Chief through. Ty unclipped his lead rope and patted Chief's neck before he retreated back to my side, closing and latching the gate back into place behind him. We watched silently as Chief trotted off to join the group of horses that was standing in a cluster in the middle of the field, their backs to the wind.

"Is he okay?" Lou asked as she came and stood next to us.

"A little wound up but he's fine," Ty responded, his green eyes never leaving Chief.

"Is there anymore damage?" I asked Lou.

"Some down branches and that kind of thing but nothing really big," she responded.

"That's good," I said in relief. "So all the other horses are okay?" I asked my thoughts turning to Sundance.

"All the other horses are safe," Lou said with a light smile. She looked at me knowingly. "Why don't you go check on Sundance?" she suggested.

"I was just about to do," I laughed. Than I became serious again, "Lou where's mom? I haven't seen her at all."

Lou shrugged. "Dad said she was somewhere around the barns."

"Okay, well I'm going to go check on Sundance and look for mom than," I said.

Ty finally turned away from the pasture and faced me. "I'm going to head home soon, see what's up there," he told me. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I said as Ty leaned down and kissed me quickly. "Be careful," I whispered in his ear once our lips parted.

"I'll be fine," Ty answered me with a small smile. I looked at the dark sky that was still sending down sheets of rain, everyone was soaked through. "I'll call you when I get home," Ty offered.

"Okay," I said still feeling doubtful.

As Ty headed over to his car I turned and walked towards the barn that held my family's horses. I was realized to see that this barn was not damaged, just as Lou has assured me. I opened the door slowly and entered the barn. The light was already turned on and I saw dad talking to the head groom, Juan, in front of the tack room door. They seemed deep in conversation and didn't notice me so I walked quietly over to Chief's stall. I leaned against the door and gave a low whistle to attract Sunny's attention. He was pacing his stall nervously and froze when he heard me. He turned and whickered when he saw me, walking slowly over to the door. I rubbed his head and smiled in gratitude. I hadn't seen him a week!

That just sent me back into thinking about mom, she had told me not to go anywhere near the barns or the horses for a few more days. Than I remembered her phone call from before when the line had gone dead, she was probably calling to warn me about the tornado. Where was she? I hadn't seen her since she left me in the house a few hours ago. If, as dad insisted, she was around the yard somewhere than why hadn't she come up to the house to make sure we were okay?

Dad's and Juan's voices drifted over to where I was standing, rubbing Sunny's forehead soothingly.

"Have you seen Marion?" dad asked in a low voice.

"No I haven't," Juan answered regretfully.

Dad sighed. "She should be back by now, the feed store's only ten minutes away." My heart thudded, mom wasn't even here?

"Maybe she got held up by the storm?" Juan suggested. "Did you try calling her?"

"Yes, her cell phone's dead."

I patted Sunny goodbye and walked up behind dad. "Dad?"

He whipped around in surprise. "Oh Amy, I didn't see you there. Is everything okay?"

"Dad where's mom?" I asked him.

Dad sighed and ran a hand through his thinning brown hair. "I don't know Amy. She left a few hours ago to pick something up from the feed store."

"She's not back yet?" I asked fearfully.

"No," dad answered simply. "She should be back soon; the storm's probably held her up."

"Okay…" I trailed off.

Suddenly dads cell phone started ringing, "That's probably your mom right now," he said and you could hear how much he hoped this was true in his voice. He took the phone out of his pocket and flipped it opened. "Hey Alex, is everything okay?" he frowned at whatever Alex told him and snapped the phone shut a moment later. He turned to me, his eyes full of fear and dread. "That was your brother." I nodded slowly, I'd already gathered that much. "He said that there are two policemen up at the house who wants to talk to us."

My heart lurched and I pushed down whatever conclusions jumped into my head and nodded passively.

"Are you coming?" dad asked. I just nodded and followed him back out into the cool night air and the rain.

**Commander In Chief**

Ty's POV

_The next morning_

_Breakfast at the Baldwin's_

"Ty breakfast!" my mom's voice sounded through the intercom on my bedside table.

I had just gotten out of the shower and groaned as I heard her voice. I quickly dried off my hair and threw on some clothes. A pair of dark washed Seven jeans and a navy Lacoste polo. I walked down the long hallway and down the stairs. When I entered the 'family dinning area' as my parents referred to it as I saw that mom and dad were already sitting there sipping coffee and reading the newspaper.

I sat down in the chair in front of where my customary bagel and cream cheese sat. I glanced at the Plasma TV perched on a separate little stand at the end of the table. The news reporter was reporting on the damage from the storm last night. The camera swept over pictures of whole houses ripped from the ground and tree's blocking the roads and highways.

That reminded me, I should call Amy later. I had called her several times last night, like I had said I would once I got home, but none of her phones had been answered. I hoped she was okay and nothing else happened once I had left.

I took a bite of my bagel and glanced over at my parents. "So what do you have planned for today Ty?" mom asked.

I shrugged. "I was going to go see Chief; the storm freaked him out pretty good last night."

Dad looked up at me and nodded. He took a sip of his coffee. "So how did Heartland fare from the tornado?" he asked sounding genuinely concerned.

"A tree fell through the roof of one of the barns, the one Chief was in." Dad's eyes widened. "But no one, horses or people, were hurt."

"That's good."

"So," I said deciding to change the subject from the topic of last night's tornado. "when _can_ Chief come home?"

"Whenever you want," dad said lightly.

Mom set her paper down and glanced up at me. "Did you find out what was wrong with him?

"No but…" I tried to say.

She cut me off with a shake of her head. "Than no, he can't come back here."

"But mom Chief…"

"No 'buts' Ty, I already told you that for that horse to be allowed back onto this property you needed to find out what was wrong with him," mom said sternly.

"Mom he only acted under the influence of _Rabidus Equus_! He's _fine_," I stressed.

"Do you have any proof that that is why he acted the way he did?" mom asked.

"No but…"

"The answer is no Ty," mom said tiredly.

"Liz," dad decided to take a stab at convincing mom. I wish him luck. "I've seen Chief, he's fine. When Ty rode him he went perfectly, he's acting just like he always does. Let him come home."

Mom seemed to contemplate what dad had just said. "I'll tell you what Ty," she said as she gazed at me. "I'll take a trip over to '_Heartland',_" I cringed as she said Heartland; she made it sound like some kind of disease or something. "And I'll see how Chief is before I make the final decision."

I almost leaped out of my chair and hugged her right then and there. "Thanks mom," I said warmly in stead. Than I remembered something I'd been meaning to ask my dad. "Dad…" I trailed off. He was staring at the TV.

"Ty look at this," he said and he turned the volume up so that I could hear it.

The reported was talking about the storm last night. "Last night a tornado ravished the area causing massive destruction. As if this morning the death count is 8 people with more injured. Emergency rooms were packed last night." The camera switched to a view of ambulances zooming into the ER entrance, their lights flashing bright against the dark sky. Than the camera switched frames again, now showing an image of a road. There was a tree down and on looking closer I saw that it was crushing a car. "Last night a down tree crushed this 2005 Ford truck killing its driver." I studied what was visible of the truck and my eyes caught something that was written on its side. "43-year-old Marion Fleming was killed in the crash."

The room was silent, the news anchors continued on with their report but I didn't hear it. I set down the last piece of bagel that I had been about to eat and ran my hands through my hair.

After a moment dad said, "Isn't that Amy's…" he trailed off.

"Mom?" I finished for him. He nodded sadly. "Yeah it was."

I was surprised to hear my mom murmur, "The poor girl…"

A moment later Lee walked into the dinning area, he caught sight of our faces and said, "Who died?"

**a/n: **So what do you think? Sorry I'm not in the mood for editing so I just skimmed it, sorry if there are any mistakes. Review! I'm going to go start the next chapter of TP right now!


	15. Crossing the line

**Authors Note**

Well here's another chapter because someone bribed me into updating but I'll be damned if I actually remember who. I was going to update anyway so it doesn't really matter. Well, on with the chapter! Review! –Steph

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely on characters created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 15**

I sat at the kitchen table on one of the chairs with my knees pulled up to my chest. I traced a finger absently along the striped pattern of my blue pajama pants, dad had made me change out of my wet jeans but I'd opted to keep my Billabong sweatshirt on. I stared numbly out of the glass door and down at the yard. The yard was strewn with branches and the patio furniture was flipped about. There was a slight breeze blowing through the trees and the sky was clear and blue and the sun was shinning full and bright. I looked down at my pants, it made me sick. How could the day be so perfect when my world was falling apart? My eyes were dry and stung and face was chapped and raw from crying for hours. I didn't want to believe what the policemen had told us but… I new it was true.

There was a crash from the other side of the room, it sounded like glass breaking. "Damn!" dad yelled out suddenly. I turned my head slightly, dad was standing by the counter, and on the floor were the remains of a coffee mug that had fallen. Dad swept it up with shaky hands. After he had thrown the glass in the trash he turned to me. His face was strained and tired and… sad, heartbroken. "Would you like some coffee Ames?" he asked in a quivering voice.

"Sure," I said softly in reply.

Dad turned and fiddled with the coffee pot. He was trying to be strong, for Alex and me, but I could tell he was hurting just as much, probably even more, than I was. After the policemen had told us that… that mom was… dead, Alex had fled the room and locked himself in his room. He hadn't come out since and yelled at me to go away through his loud sobbing when I'd knocked on his door. I'd stayed downstairs with dad to make sure he didn't lock himself in his office and take comfort from his secret stash of whisky in his desk drawer the way he had when his father passed away.

"Damn coffee machine…" dad mumbled.

"Dad it's okay, I don't need any," I reassured him.

"No, I'm making coffee," dad said stubbornly. "Do you want anything to eat? A piece of toast? Some eggs?"

I looked at his drawn face that seemed so much older than it had yesterday. "Sure dad I'll have a piece of toast." I wasn't hungry and didn't think I could stomach anything but it gave my dad something to do.

"Can you turn on the news Ames?" dad asked suddenly as he slid a piece of toast in front of me. The toast was burnt and charred with a glob of yellow butter sitting in the middle of it.

I tried to give my dad a light smile but I don't know how good it came across. "Thanks dad." I flipped on the news channel and my heart lurched, they were reporting on the storm from last night. I fingered the piece of toast and some black bits fell to the white plate below.

"I'm sorry," dad said and he sounded so dejected that my heart clenched in pain. "Cooking's not my forte. That was always your… your moms job," his voice cracked at the end.

My eyes burned as I felt them fill with fresh tears. I blinked rapidly, I couldn't cry again, especially not in front of my dad.

"Its okay dad," I said to try and reassure him. "I'm not that hungry anyway." I set the burnt, soggy toast back on the plate and stared unseeingly at the television. They showed a frame of a truck with a tree lying over it, crushing it. My stomach churned nauseatingly, I knew that truck. That was mom's truck.

"Last night a down tree crushed this 2005 Ford truck killing its driver. 43-year-old Marion Fleming was killed in the crash." The news anchors voice filled the silent kitchen. It was too much for me, and my dad to. He sprang from his chair and fled the room. A door slammed at the end of the hallway. My heart sank, dad's office. I looked back at the TV, at the picture of mom's truck and the emergency vehicles surrounding it and the crane lifting the tree off of it. The roof was smashed in almost to the point where it was probably touching the seat and the flat bed in the back was sticking up in the air. A few tears trickled down my burning cheeks. The frame on the news cast changed to showing the paramedics lifting a stretcher into an ambulance. Lying on the stretcher was a body that was covered in a yellow tarp. A sob tore through my chest and I leapt from my chair, knocking it over in the process, I ignored it and ran up the stairs to my room. The TV was still blaring ominously behind me.

I slammed my door shut and collapsed onto my unmade bed. I buried my face in one of many pillows and sobbed.

"Amy?" Came a soft voice from the door a few minutes later.

I picked up my head and pushed the hair out of my face. I looked over at the door and saw it partially opened. Alex was standing in the crack. His face was tear stained and his eyes bloodshot. He was wearing the same jeans and navy Heartland sweatshirt that he had had on before and his short brown hair was mussed and sticking up in the back.

I hurriedly dragged the sleeve of my sweatshirt across my wet face leaving a glistening trail on the black fabric. "What is it Alex?" I sniffled.

Tears pooled in his hazel eyes. "I…" his voice cracked and he trailed off. He rubbed his hand over his eyes furiously.

My heart went out to my little brother. I pushed myself into a sitting position and crossed my legs Indian style. "Come here Alex," I said softly and opened my arms to him. He hesitated for a moment but than slide through the space in the door and ran into my arms. He jumped onto my bed next to me and locked his arms around my neck. He buried his face in my chest and I felt his shoulders start to shake against my arms. I pressed my face into his hair as I started to cry again too.

After five minutes had passed Alex looked up at me. His face was red and wet and tears were still streaming down his cheeks. "Why did it have to be mom?" he asked me suddenly.

I shook my head sadly. "I don't know Al, I just don't know."

"But there were tons of cars on that road, why did it have to be hers?"

I stared into his eyes that mirrored the same sadness and pain as mine held. "I don't know," I whispered again.

"It's not fair!" Alex wailed as the tears started flowing harder and faster. "Wh-what are w-w-we go-g-going to d-do n-no-now?" he stuttered through his tears.

"I don't know…" I trailed off.

"D-do you th-think tha-that we'll g-go back to En -England?" Alex managed to ask clearer as he got his stuttering under control.

"I just don't know Alex. I don't know what's going to happen. Dad's…"

"Drunk," Alex said in a hard voice.

"Oh," I said softly. I thought that that would happen. "We just all have to help each other out, as a family."

Alex sniffled hard and rubbed his face. "How can we be a family without mom?" Alex asked quietly in a sad little boy voice.

I was silent; I didn't know the answer to that. I'd never… I'd always thought mom would always be here. To wake me up when my alarm failed to in the morning, to make breakfast, to ask me how my day was or go on trail rides together, such trivial, small things that without my life would never be the same. I'd never see her out in the barn, doing Join-Up with a horse or running around the place like a mad woman with pieces of straw sticking out of her bouncy blonde hair again. She wouldn't be at my graduation or Alex's, wouldn't be there to see us off to college or at anymore shows to cheer us on. Finally I composed myself enough to answer Alex. "Well we still have each other. Me, you, Lou and dad, we'll help each other," I tried to say confidently but my wavering voice gave me away.

Alex threw his arms around my shoulders again and buried his face into my neck. "I miss her so much Amy," he sobbed against me. Tears rolled down my face again as Alex sobbed on. What did we do to deserve this?

"So do I Alex," I said softly as I smoothed his hair down.

I heard my door creak open and looked up from Alex. My heart lurched hopefully as I saw who was standing there… but it fell when I saw that it was just Lou. She looked so much like mom with her curly, cornstalk yellow, shoulder length hair and aqua blue eyes and fair complexion. She gave me a teary smile and walked silently over to us. Lou sat down on Alex's other side and he looked up as the bed shifted slightly under him. "Hey guys," Lou said softly.

Normally I would have been embarrassed and tried to cover my tearstained face so that my big sister wouldn't see but it didn't seem to matter so much anymore. Not after seeing her equally red and tearstained face that was normally so composed and businesslike. "Hi Lou," I said with a sigh.

Tears filled Lou's clear blue eyes and she hugged Alex and me tightly. Alex ended up smashed in the middle of us.

"How are you guys holding up?" she asked us, concern laced through her voice. I didn't feel the need to answer her question because our, Alex and mine, faces said it all. Alex sniffled again and scrubbed at his eyes. I covered my hands with the sleeves of my sweatshirt and rubbed face. My eyes caught sight of a picture sitting on my dresser that showed all of us, Lou, Alex, dad, mom and I, when we had been on a family vacation to Cancun two summers ago and we went on a bareback horse ride on the beach. We all looked so happy sitting on the beautiful, energetic, exotically colored and patterned animals with the clear blue water lapping the shore in light waves in the background. My eyes filled with tears and a few trickled out from under my eyelashes. Lou looked over her shoulder and caught sight of the picture. She smiled softly and just like mine had her eyes filled with tears at all the smiling faces. "I remember when that picture was taken," Lou said softly. Several fat tears slid down her flawless cheeks and she brushed them away with her deep red manicured fingers.

I was silent; I didn't feel the need to speak. That and I was incapable of speech at that moment. Looking at that picture brought back so many memories of when we'd all been together as a family… we'd never be like that again, ever. Mom was gone.

"How did this happen?" Lou asked in a pained voice. "I just wish I'd gotten to say goodbye, if anything," she added.

"I know. The last time I saw her was yesterday afternoon when she was telling me I couldn't go out to the barn, I'd been mad at her," my voice cracked as I remembered our exchange yesterday. "Mom wasn't mad, just calm and her usual stuff. I wish I'd been nicer and that I hadn't given her such a hard time," I said regretfully.

"The last time I saw her," Alex began to say, he stopped and sniffled before continuing. "Was when I was about to get Arty's tack and give him a workout, she told me not to because he'd been worked hard the day before." He looked up at the ceiling. "I don't think I even said anything to her," Alex recalled.

"The last time I saw her was when she came into the office to ask me a question about a horse that's supposed to arrive on Wednesday." Lou paused. "It's no use stressing over what could have been," Lou said softly.

"You're right," I agreed. "Mom's gone and as horrible as that is we can't change it now," it practically ripped out my heart to say those words.

"What's going to happen to us Lou?" Alex asked again. "Do you think we're going to go back to England?"

"I don't know," Lou said sadly. "I hope not, I didn't like only getting to see you guys only once a year or so."

"Me neither," Alex agreed. "But… everything's just going to be so different now."

I nodded my head solemnly in agreement.

"We'll take care of each other though; help each other get through the hard times. We're a family, you, me, Amy and daddy…" she trailed off. "Speaking of which, where _is_ daddy? I haven't seen him."

"He's in his office," I relayed.

"Oh no," Lou sighed. "I'll go and see if I can talk to him, I have something to tell you guys," Lou paused, "Of course it just doesn't seem so important or great right now."

There was a soft knock on the door. I looked over. Ty was standing in the doorframe awkwardly. My heart surged as I saw him, he could make everything better.

"Uh hi," Ty said awkwardly. "You're dad told me to come up… I can go though if you want," he offered. I didn't say anything, just stared at him. "I saw what happened on the news," he started softly, "I'm really sorry."

Lou stood up from my bed. "Thank you Ty that's really nice of you. You stay with Amy; I'm going to go talk to my dad."

"Me too," Alex said. He cleared the remains of his tears from his face and before he stood up I gave him one last hug, he returned it gratefully. Lou and Alex walked through the door and Lou shut it softly behind her.

I kept my eyes on Ty; he was lingering by the door. "Are you sure you don't want me to go and come back some other time? I understand if you just want to be alone right now."

"Ty," I said softly before he could continue. "Don't go, stay. Please," I quietly begged him. I'd been positive that I had cried all my tears and that I physically incapable of anymore but my eyes flooded with tears that threatened to spill without any warning. Ty was watching me intently as I stood up and took a small step in his direction. His arms opened to me and I rushed into them. His strong arms folded around me and held me close to his chest. I buried my face in chest and put my hands on his chest.

He soothed me and stroked my hair as my shoulders began to shake from crying. "I'm not going to say I understand how you feel," Ty said softly into my hair, his breath rustled around my ear, "Because I don't. I don't know what it's like to loose one of your parents but I know it's got to be hard. I'm so sorry Amy." His words were spoken calmly and _did_ sooth me but also brought my tears on harder.

After standing like that for about ten minutes I managed to compose myself a little and looked up into Ty's warm, loving face. "It's not fair," I murmured.

Ty shook his head sadly as his emerald green eyes caught my much plainer gray ones. "No it's not," he said as put his hand on my cheek and wiped away my tears. "No one should have to loose a parent; everyone should have two, a mother and father. Maybe even more if you're lucky."

As I stared into his eyes I felt an overwhelming sense that I had to do something that would take away the dull ache in the pit of my stomach and the pain in my heart. Without thinking I stood on the tips on my toes and caught his mouth with mine. I felt Ty tense up at first in surprise but than his hands ran down my sides and curved around my waist and he kissed me back. As soon as I felt the familiar sensation of Ty's tongue running along my bottom lip I instantly opened my mouth. He explored mine and I his.

Ty deepened the kiss and I did nothing to argue. This was what I wanted, to feel good again. Not to feel the pain anymore…

I took a step backwards and pulled him with me until I felt the back of my knees hit the side of my bed. I stopped and, without breaking our kiss, I shoved Ty's jacket down his arms and he shook it off so that it landed on the floor. I put both of my hands in the inside of his navy blue Lacoste polo and was about to pull it over his head when he suddenly ripped his lips away from mine and pulled my hands out from under his shirt.

I groaned in annoyment and slid my hands up his arms before running them lightly down his chest. I felt him shudder beneath me but again he grabbed my hands and he placed them firmly by my side and I watched him in surprise as he bent down to retrieve his black jacket from the carpeted floor. He put it back on before he turned to me again.

I stepped back up to him and slipped my hand under the collar of his jacket. Suddenly his lips caught mine again in a rough kiss. It was filled with want, need and desire. All too soon for my taste Ty again broke the kiss.

"Amy no. We can't do this."

"Why not?" I said huskily as I pressed myself up against him. He was breathing rather quickly, I was too, and he looked down at our chest pressed together.

He shook his head. "No," he said firmly. It sounded like he was going against everything he wanted as he said that. He took a step back from me. "Amy we can't do this. I want to, but we can't."

"Why not?" I asked again.

"Because…" Ty trailed off. "Because it's too soon and… no we can't. You're hurt… I can't…"

I put a finger to his lips to quiet him. It worked successfully, very successfully. I wanted him to kiss me again but he didn't. He stayed resolutely where he was. His eyes begged to differ with what he was telling me.

"We _can_," I whispered in a way that I hope was seductive but I've never had a reason to be seductive before so don't know how good it was.

"No we can't," Ty said but his voice had lost most of its previous conviction and this time he didn't move away from me.

I smiled lightly in triumph as I kissed his jaw lightly. His hands encircled my waist once again and I heard him moan in pleasure.

"Amy no. Stop," he said again though his actions didn't follow through with his words. Quite the contrary actually, his hand was massaging little circles on my back.

"Ty stop," I said softly into his ear. "Ty please," I practically pleaded with him as I felt his muscles tense. "Just help me," I begged, "Take away the pain…"

After my words were spoken Ty sprang away from me like I was on fire, his hands slipped out from under my sweatshirt. "No," he said again, this time more forcefully. "Amy that's what I'm talking about!"

"What? What are you talking about?" I asked in confusion as he started pacing.

He stopped after a minute and faced me. "Don't get me wrong," he started. "I want that, I really, really do. But…"

"Than why not Ty?" I asked him. "You want it, I want it so what's the big deal?"

"You want it for the wrong reasons," he accused me.

"What?" I asked aghast. "That's not…"

"You just said it Amy! You only want this so that you stop thinking about your mom for awhile," he told me.

"How _dare_ you?" I exclaimed. "That's not true! I…"

"Oh really?" Ty asked me as he stared at me critically. "Than why? Why do you want to do this now?"

"I…" I trailed off as I realized that he was right. Of course he was right, he knew me too well. I collapsed back onto my bed and buried my face in knees. "You're right," I mumbled into my pajama pants. "I'm sorry; I'm a horrible person…"

"No you're not," Ty said in a softer voice as he sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "You're hurting and just want something that will make that all go away… even if it is only for a little while."

"I'm a whore," I criticized myself.

Ty look at me in shock. "What? What are you _talking_ about Amy?" he demanded. I shrugged and stared at the different color blue stripes on my pajama pants. When I stayed silent Ty continued, "Don't say that! It's _not_ true!"

"Whatever," I mumbled.

Ty turned his body so that he was facing me. "Amy, why would you say that?"

I stared at his face. Instead of answering him I asked him something else. "Why don't you want to do it?"

"Amy, what? I…"

"I bet you had no problem jumping into bed with Ashley," I pointed out icily.

Ty jumped back and a wounded look flashed through his eyes. I felt a fresh stab of pain slice through my heart at his pain. I was too far in now to just shrug it off though.

"Amy what are you talking about?"

"I said I bet you had no problem sleeping with Ashley! If you'll sleep with her than why not me? Am I really that bad?"

"You don't even know…" Ty started to say.

I cut him off seeing where he was going. "So are you going to say that you never slept with Ashley?" I blinked slowly at him.

Ty's mouth moved but no sound came out. "I…" he finally managed.

I stood up and faced him. "What Ty? Yes or no, did you ever fuck Ashley?"

Ty sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a surefire sign, I'd come to realize, that he was nervous. He looked back up at me. "Fine Amy do you want the truth? I slept with Ashley, happy?"

"So what did you gain by breaking up with her for me? You lost your screw buddy and instead got me. Maybe it's just a trick." My heart was pounding; I knew I'd gone to far that time.

"How are you changing everything to me and Ashley? That's not what this is about! We're over, Ashley and I!"

"Really Ty? You'll sleep with that blonde bimbo but you won't sleep with me? I didn't think I was _that_ repulsive," I spat out the word 'that'.

Ty paled. "Amy what are you talking about? You're fucking gorgeous! A hundred times better than Ashley!"

"I'm sure. So tell me, Ty, why did you break up with Ashley for me?" Ty stared at me in disbelief. "Can't come up with anything? I didn't think so. So you dumped Ashley, and her model like body, for me? And I'm what? Boring and plain?"

I could have continued but Ty suddenly burst out, "Would you stop it? Just stop criticizing yourself! I told you, the day I asked you out the first time, why I wanted you over Ashley! But do you want to know something I didn't tell you before?" the room crackled as Ty paused. "I love you Amy!" he roared at me. My eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah that's right, I love you! I FUCKING LOVE YOU AMY! There are you happy now? Is that reason enough for you?" I was silent and just stared at Ty. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst. Ty took a deep shuddering breath. "Whatever Amy, I can't do this anymore."

"What…?" I breathed in surprise and dread. He couldn't say…

"We're over Amy," my heart thudded hard against my chest. I stared at him in shock.

"What? No, Ty! I'm sorry I..." I tried to plead with him.

"I thought we were good together Amy, I really did," Ty said as he looked at me regretfully. "I thought we had something special, but I guess I was wrong."

"No, Ty, you weren't wrong!" I leapt up from where I was again sitting on my bed and tried to move towards him.

Ty backed over to my door and opened it. "I'm sorry Amy. I guess I was wrong… about everything. About me, about you and about us." I shook my head frantically hoping that he would understand. "Bye Amy," he said and than walked out of the door, closing it behind him. I heard his feet descending the stairs.

I stared at my door, where I'd last seen him, in a stunned silence. I grabbed a little throw pillow that had been knocked off of my bed sometime in the past day or two and threw it with all my strength at the door. It hardly even made any noise. I stared at it and tears filled my eyes. It was a blue velvet heart… Ty had given it to me as a joke one day when I'd been stuck in the house after my accident.

The tears caressed my face and I collapsed onto my bed, curling into the fetal position. I'd just messed everything up, sent away one of the people I cared about most in the world. I was shocked to admit this little fact to myself… I loved Ty Baldwin.

It only made my tears come faster. "What did I do?" I said through my tears.

There was a soft knock on the door. My heart soared, maybe it was Ty. "Amy?" came a female voice from the other side of the door. It was just Lou. I didn't reply it was almost impossible to do so through my rivers of tears. Lou opened the door and stuck her head in. When she saw me she rushed through the door. "Oh Amy," she said as he sat down next to me. She stroked my hair back.

"Lou what am I going to do?" I wailed. "I've messed everything up…"

**a/n: **so? Sorry I don't have time to edit, my mom's gonna be home in like 10 minutes and I have to clean my room! I've proofed the first half, up till when Amy and Ty start fighting but it should be okay. Review!


	16. Still and silent

**Authors Note**

Hello everybody! Don't mind me I'm like high on painkillers or something for head/neck. I have advice for you guys: when you're riding your trainers 16.3 hand high horse, DON'T fall off! Also don't ride outside when it's windy and there are tarps near the ring. Tis not a good mix! The horse will likely spook and you'll end up on the ground and the next morning you'll have a killer headache that won't go away (I've had mine since Sunday! And it won't go away! Just keeps getting worse!) Totally not fair because I can no longer say that I've only fallen once in close to seven years of riding. Nope now it's gotta be twice. Oh well I won't bore you anymore and just get on with the chapter. Review! –Steph

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely off of characters and events that were created and are owned by Lauren Brooke

**Chapter 15 **(the last chapter should have been chapter 14, this is chapter 15)

_Same day, Monday, night_

_Baldwin House_

Nobodies POV

Brad Baldwin was sitting in his living room with his wife, Elizabeth Baldwin, more commonly known as Liz. There was a fire blazing in the stone fireplace adjacent to their couches and Brad was enjoying a relaxing conversation with his wife after a long, hard day out on the yard. There'd been much to do and clean up from the storm last night. Though, Baldwin Ways had fared fortunately, unlike some, in the tornado they were not left unscathed. There were down braches, trees and several crushed paddock gates and fences that needed attention.

Despite any inconveniences Brad had ordered that the mile long race track on his property be cleared off straight away. He wouldn't miss a day of training his new obsession, Baldwin Prince. The young colt was regally named and was living up to his name quite nicely, as Brad would tell you. The Prince, as Brad affectionately called him, was going to win the Triple Crown that spring, Brad would confidently tell you. There was not a dot of doubt in Brad's mind that his flashy colt was the one. Though, Brad could close down Baldwin Ways that very minute and be able to live the same life style he was basking in now, support his two children, and never sell any of his possessions, he'd never lost his competition spark. Brad got a thrill at the racetrack, which was what turned Baldwin Ways into, primarily, a racing stable. He didn't need another Triple Crown win; he'd already had, possibly, more than his fair share of those and was willing to show you the trophies for added proof, but he could never give it up and every spring he found him self thirsty for more. As soon as the foals started being born he'd stalk through the aisles of the barns, appraising the youngsters that were just days old, fillies and colts alike, looking for the one that, in Brad's eyes, had the making of a champion. It was like he was on the hunt, and didn't stop until he was firmly set on one, more often than not he was correct in his assumptions on who would be their next great runner.

"Hmmm," Liz said as she savored a sip from her wine glass. She looked at the fire that was crackling in the elegant stone fireplace next to her. "This is nice," she said with a glance at her husband.

"It is," Brad responded dazedly, once again he'd been consumed in his dreams of Baldwin Prince in the winners circle with the blanket of white carnations draped proudly over The Prince's sleek, muscular, jet black back. The jockey was sitting tall in the saddle and wore the Baldwin Ways silks proudly.

"It's so quiet," Liz said. Though, the mansion was so huge that you'd easily get lost if you didn't know your way around there was always something happening. Her youngest son, Lee, had taken a liking to blasting music around the house and thanks to his state of the art, top notch sound system in his room it meant that everyone was listening to his music. "Where are the kids?" Liz asked suddenly.

"Lee's in the field house with some friends, playing basketball I believe," Brad answered his wife. Adjacent to the main house there was a separate building that contained two full size basket ball courts, several tennis courts, squash courts, one of those tanks that propels the water towards you and you swim against it, an indoor pool and hot tub, a mile track, a weight room and every kind of exercise equipment you could possibly fathom. Of course locker rooms and showers were a given and Brad had specially added an in home spa, complete with workers, for Liz as a birthday gift the prior year. "Ty hasn't been back since this morning," Brad finished.

"At Amy's, isn't he?" Liz questioned even though she already knew the answer that was coming.

"Yes," Brad responded. "What the poor girl must be going through," he shook his head sadly. "Loosing her mother like that." He looked at Liz and met her blue eyes, "Ty's a good boy, he'd never hurt her."

"No," Liz said with a small smile. "He wouldn't."

"You should be more supportive of him," Brad suggested after a moment.

"What do you mean?" Liz asked primly as she took another dainty sip from her wine glass.

"About him and Amy," Brad supplied. "He cares about her a lot," he paused and looked steadily at Liz before continuing. "In fact," Brad began, "I would go so far as to say he loves her."

Liz was silent for a moment and she swirled the wine around in her glass, moving her hand in light circles. She stared into the rocking, deep red liquid. "I do believe he does," Liz said finally. It was hard for her to admit something like that. "But you know?" Liz uncrossed her long, perfectly toned and tanned legs and set both of her long and skinny but still dainty feet on the lavishly carpeted floor. "I'm beginning to think the Amy may not be so bad for Ty."

A wide smile broke across Brad's face. He leaned over and kissed his wife enthusiastically on the cheek. "That's a girl!" he exclaimed.

"It's just that…" Liz trailed off and stared into the fire as if the jumping yellow and orange flames held all her answers. Around the edges of the flames there was a light blue coloring, that was the color of Liz's eyes. Messing with her was like messing with fire. "Oh I don't know!" Liz sighed exasperatedly and threw her hands up in front of her chest. "I was wrong I suppose," she finally said.

Brad grinned even wider. "Amy's a fine young lady," he said. "I can't think of someone more suited for Ty than her if I tried."

Liz nodded. "I'll… I'll try to get to know her a bit better. What's say we invite her and her father and brother over for dinner soon? We'll wait a respectable time to invite them of course," Liz added, "Given their resent lose," she concluded.

"Wonderful idea love," Brad said from his place on the couch.

"But," Liz began again, "I know how Ty cares for her but," she paused, "I'm just not sure about how I do yet."

"Well that's fine," Brad reasoned. He leaned forwards and rested his elbows on his knees. "Just give her a chance; I think you wrote her off too quickly when she was here."

"Yes," Liz said.

"The most important thing, however," Brad started, "Is what Ty thinks of her. I know he'd never dream of doing anything to harm her and…" Brad paused as he heard the front door slam shut from a distance. The sound of feet stomped down the hallway, getting ever closer to them. "Ty?" Brad called out after determining that it was most likely his oldest son. Lee would no doubt have been flanked by an army of his friends and Brad only heard one person.

A few seconds later Ty appeared in the archway. "What?" he asked irritably.

"Is everything alright honey?" Liz asked in concern. Normally her son was so calm, patient, understanding, now he looked mad and… she saw a mix of conflicting emotions spread across his face, it was impossible to target just one.

"Fine," Ty answered tersely.

Brad noticed his son's odd behavior too but he figured, if Ty didn't want to talk about it than he wouldn't push it. "How's Amy doing?" Brad stopped abruptly from continuing with his questions. As soon as he said Amy's name Ty's face darkened considerably.

"She's fine," Ty responded without a hint of emotion in his voice.

"Ty are you sure everything's alright?" Liz asked again in concern. She stood up from the couch, set her wine glass on the coffee table and stepped towards her eldest son who was still lingering in the archway. "Did something happen with…"

"Alright fine," Ty said, cutting of his mom mid-sentence. "I broke up with Amy." The room was completely silent for a moment. Ty turned on his mother, his eyes blazing with a fire dancing of emerald green. "You should be happy mom, I know how much you hated her." With that Ty stomped off down the hall and several seconds later a slamming door echoed into the sitting room where Brad and Liz were.

"Oh dear," Liz said worriedly. "What do you suppose happened?"

Brad pushed a hand through his thinning brown hair. "I don't know," he said wearily. "I suppose one of us should talk to him." He shot a meaningful glance to his wife, "I think it should be you."

Liz nodded her head, her light brown hair bobbing around her face. "Where do you suppose he went?" Liz asked. As soon as the words left her mouth she knew where she would find Ty. She looked at Brad and at the same time they said, "The library." There were several libraries in the Baldwin manor but Ty had chosen one that he preferred over the others. It was the one where he had taken Amy to help her understand about football. There was a silent understanding within the Baldwin family that that room was Ty's, every member of the family had a room in the gargantuan house, other than their bedrooms, that was 'theirs', in a manner of speaking.

Liz walked down hallway after hallway until she finally reached the end of the seemingly never ending maze of hallways. She faced a door at the end of the maze. Liz reached out and turned the door knob. She opened the door and caught sight of Ty flopped on the huge leather couch with his feet on the table in front of him. He was flipping through the channels and his eyes were focused on the large screen in front of him, though, his eyes didn't seem to be seeing what was on the screen.

"Ty?" Liz said hesitantly as she walked into the room. Ty didn't normally get this angry but when he did, watch out.

"What?" he asked in a hard voice, he never once looked over at his mother, turned the volume down or looked away from the TV screen.

"I think," Liz began, "That we need to talk." She moved around the couch and sat down at the corner of the sofa, a fair few places away from Ty. In the 18 odd years that she had been married to Brad she had learned a thing or two about horses. The first was that when there is an angry horse you shouldn't try to force it to come to you or obey you. The horse should decide on its own that it wants you near it. Over the years, Liz had found that when you applied this method to people it worked much the same way.

"What about?" Ty asked, his gaze never leaving the television screen that was flickering and changing images every time he pressed the buttons on the remote.

"You know what about Ty," Liz said calmly, unfazed to Ty's cold and hard tone of voice. "What happened with you and Amy?" she pressed.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ty said briefly. He landed on a news channel where they were, again, reporting on last nights storms. A picture of Marion Fleming popped up onto the screen. Ty flicked the television off and tossed the remote to his side with a sigh. Finally, he turned his head briefly to his mother. "Why do you want to know or even care for that matter? You never liked Amy and you're probably only in here right now because dad made you come." He turned away and stayed forwards at the blank screen of the TV.

"Ty I'm your mother and I care about you. I don't like to see you hurt because when you are I'm hurt too," Liz said with feeling as she watched her son closely. "You're hurt now," she said softly. "Tell me what happened," Liz persisted. "Please Ty," she added gently.

Ty sighed and raked his hand through his brown hair. He shook his head around as if he was trying to clear images or memories from his head. "It was so stupid," he said eventually. "I…" he paused, "I don't even know what happened."

"Were you talking?" Liz guessed. "Or…" she trailed off.

Ty snorted. "Talking? Not so much. More like 'or' I guess," Ty stopped abruptly and clamped his mouth shut feeling as though he had shared too much information with his mother.

"Ty, what happened?" Liz asked again. "I just want to understand."

Eventually Ty's jaw loosened and he spoke. "We were uh…" he trailed off. "I don't know what happened. One minute she was crying in my arms and than… you know. I said no because I knew she wanted it for the wrong reasons and that she was hurting and than…" Ty stopped and his expression looked pained.

"Go on," Liz encouraged him.

"And than," Ty repeated, "I don't know what happened. Amy turned everything over to me and Ashley and kept criticizing herself and I just… lost it I guess. I didn't mean to break up with her though," he added. "I was just so mad," he said softly and dropped his head in shame.

Liz scooted along the couch until she was sitting neck to Ty. She had determined that Ty was now willing and ready to accept her presence and rubbed his arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry Ty," Liz said. "I know you cared about her a lot."

"Actually, mom," Ty began hesitantly. "I think I loved her."

Liz smiled lightly, "Well did you tell Amy that?"

Ty grimaced but nodded anyway. "I more like yelled it at her."

"Well at least she knows that," Liz reasoned.

"I don't know," Ty began. "That's not how I wanted to tell her." He glanced over at his mother, "You know? I just wanted it to be perfect," Liz nodded understandingly. "I really screwed things up," Ty sighed and dropped his head back against the leather cushions.

"You can call her," Liz urged Ty. "She loves you just as much as you love her," she insisted.

"How do you know? She probably hates me." Ty groaned. "Her mom dies and than I break up with her, all in one day. I'm an ass," Ty berated himself.

"No you aren't Ty," Liz said forcefully. "You were upset and just acted, you didn't think about the consequences just acted. It happens to all of us," she assured her eldest son. "Call her, you can fix everything."

"I can't," Ty said suddenly. "I… just can't call. Not now. Maybe later."

Liz smiled sadly at Ty. "You call when you're ready." Ty nodded lightly. "Just don't wait too long," Liz warned. Ty remained silent and Liz was determined to cheer him up. "Hey I've got an idea," she said enthusiastically. He faces Ty and put a hand on each of his forearms. "Let's go to Heartland, on Thursday, and I'll see about Chief," she offered.

Ty looked up at his mother and offered her the slightest of smiles. "Thanks mom."

Liz nodded firmly and stood up. "Come on," she said to Ty and gestured for him to stand up. "Let's go see about dinner."

"Okay," Ty said and stood up. He had almost followed his mother out of the library when he remembered his phone, it had vibrated in his pocket while he had been talking to his mother and he had ignored it. Now he pulled it out. "I'll be right there mom," he called to his mom's retreating back.

"Alright!" Liz called back to him before continuing down the hall.

When Liz disappeared around the corner Ty stepped back into the library and closed the door softly behind him. He leaned his back against the door and flipped opened his phone. The screen flashed at him, indicating that he had one new voicemail. Beneath the alert it said 'Amy'. Ty was tempted to snap the phone closed and forget about it but, as if on its own accord, his finger pressed the accept button. Ty entered his password into the phone and pressed the number symbol.

The recorded female, slightly robotic sounding voice played into Ty's ear. "You have one new voicemail in your mailbox," it alerted Ty. "To listen to your voicemail press one. To…" Ty pressed 'one' and soon he was listening to his message. Just as he had thought, it was from Amy.

Her voice was quiet and sad. It made Ty's heart clench in his chest. He'd caused that pain, at least some of it.

"Hi Ty, it's me. Uh Amy," she quickly added. She sniffled before continuing. "I just wanted to say… um…" she paused before saying in a rush, "I'm really sorry," her voice cracked on the word 'sorry'. "I was wrong, really wrong," she said with a sharp, humorless laugh, "About everything. You were right, of course. You always are," she mumbled. "I was stupid, wrong, whatever you want to call it. I was upset… about my… my mom and…" she stopped again and Ty could tell that she was openly crying now. "Just, it's my dad, he's…" she sniffled hard. "Sorry," she said quietly. "I'm really sorry though Ty, I shouldn't have said what I did. It was wrong and I had no right. You didn't deserve that and I was um wrong… I've said that already," she mumbled. "But uh Ty? I really don't want us to be over. What you said… you weren't wrong, about any of it," she insisted. "And um you said you loved me and the truth is…" Amy paused and took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "And the truth is… the truth is I think…" finally she was able to get what she wanted to say out. "I think I love you to. Actually I know I love you to…"

There was a click and than the robotic female voice spoke again. "End of messages. To save this message press…" Ty snapped the phone shut and just starred at it in his hands. He sighed and leaned his head back against the door. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut and couldn't breathe.

Ty opened his phone again and scrolled down the contacts list until he found Amy's name. He pressed accept and than stared at the numbers he had stored for her. He finally decided that he should call her home phone. His finger was poised over the send button…

"Ty dinner!" his mom's voice called from down the hall.

"One minute!" Ty called back. He eyed the phone again. It was easy, just press the green button and talk to her. He could make it all better, just like that. He was thisclose to pressing send when the other part, the smaller part, of him made him change his mind and he snapped the phone shut. He instantly regretted his decision and was tempted to call again.

He opened his phone back up and found her number again but…

He found he couldn't do it. He didn't understand why he couldn't call her, he wanted to call her. But there was something stopping him. After five minutes of just standing there he realized what it was that was stopping him:

This wasn't something that he wanted to, or felt he could, handle over the phone. He needed to talk with Amy, face to face. He needed to fix what he had messed up, Amy was wrong. He wasn't the one that was right, he was wrong. If had just been able to do what Amy had wanted him to do than everything would be okay. They'd still be together and…

"Ty?" Liz's voice came from the other side of the door. The doorknob turned under Ty's back and he stepped away just as the door started to open. He perched on the arm of the sofa. "Ty what's wrong?" Liz asked when she saw his face.

"I was wrong," Ty said. "If I had just done what she wanted everything would fine. If I had just…"

"No!" Liz said so forcefully that Ty stopped talking and stared at his mother in confusion. "I thought I'd taught you well as you'd grown up." She looked meaningfully into Ty's green eyes. "I taught you and your brother to always make your own decisions, to do what you feel is the right thing. If you had gone ahead and done that earlier today, yes you'd most likely still be with Amy but you'd always feel that it was wrong." Liz put her hands on Ty's shoulders. "Don't blame yourself," she said in a softer voice. "I think that both of you are partly to blame for what happened but blaming yourself isn't going to fix it. If you really do love her and she loves you back than you will find a way to fix this. All relationships have their bumps Ty, that's what makes you stronger, as a pair and as an individual. Call Amy later, if you feel up to it, or you can wait a day or two and give her some space, let her come to terms with her mother's death. But remember, we are going to Heartland on Thursday, in four days."

Ty sighed and threw his arms up in the air. "Okay, okay! You're right!" he laughed lightly and the sound warmed Liz's heart.

Liz smiled at her son affectionately. "Come on," she said and pulled him to his feet. She put an arm around his shoulders as best she could with Ty being so tall and led him out of the room. Ty briefly thought about his cell phone that he had left lying on the couch. He decided to forget about and go eat dinner with his family. Despite all his problems, things with his mom were starting to look up.

Back on the couch, Ty's cell phone buzzed and vibrated against the leather. The little screen on the front flash. After about 30 seconds the phone became quiet and another voicemail was added to Ty's mailbox. Several minutes later the phone buzzed again…

But Ty wasn't there to accept the call and it would go unnoticed and forgotten until he remembered he'd left his phone there and retrieved it.

The phone buzzed helplessly on the couch for the third time. Finally stopped, again, and it became still. The phone didn't buzz again, it remained still and silent.

**a/n: **short. Oh well my mom's making me go put a heating pad on my neck, again, and I should go do that, unless I want to get thrown off of the computer which would result in you not even getting this update… okay, well on Friday I'm going to my house in AZ for spring break so I don't know if I'll update for about a week. I have a computer there and can check fanfic and whatnot but I don't know if I'll have much updating time. I'll update TP tomorrow (Wednesday) or Thursday, definitely. I hope you liked this chapter, there wasn't much point to it but it needed to be done. Review! -Steph


	17. Spaghetti and meatballs

**Authors Note**

I must say, I've gotten a number of interesting threats to continue this story and TP… I take it you guys like it than. And as enjoyable as being trampled by horses or chickens in thongs sounds… I think I'll just go ahead and update. Also, I know how Amy and Ty are going to get back together! What? Did you REALLY think they wouldn't? Hehe, well only I know! I also have a sequel planned for this story, and maybe more after that too. It's kind of obvious what it's going to be about… but you'll just have to wait till later to get the title! Okay I think I'll STOP teasing you now and get on with the chapter… review!

**Disclaimer: **Based loosely off of characters and events created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 16**

_Thursday, Green Acres Prep_

Mom's been gone for five days. Five long, horrible days. Nothing's been the same; the only thing I can relay on anymore is the stables and the horses. Dad hasn't been the same since, I hardly even see him anymore but when I do… Lou's basically taken over the whole management side of the business. Most days I find myself, and Alex too, throwing ourselves into working with the horses.

Ty hasn't even called me back.

The funeral came and passed and now dad was making me go back to school. I don't want to, but it's better to stay out of his way and do what he says these days.

I parked my Jeep Liberty in the parking lot, taking extra care to park as far away from the all too familiar black Cadillac Escalade EXT, petty, I know, but I wasn't in the mood. The almost cherry red paint job on my car seemed disgustingly, blindingly bright against my chosen wardrobe: dark washed jeans, black UGG boots, a navy long sleeved shirt from my school in England and my black North Face zipped up.

I held the front strap of my black messenger bag tightly in clenched fists as I walked slowly up to the entrance of my school. I was early, everyone was still hanging out outside. I noticed my friends were under The Tree, our usual spot and slowed down even more. Again, I wasn't in the mood. I eyed the doors to the school, wondering if I could slip through unnoticed and hide out in the library until the bell rang. I slightly angled myself in that direction when…

"AMY!" a voice yelled.

I froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a large vehicle. I turned slowly. I sighed in relief; it was just Soroya, gesturing widely for me to join them. I sighed; there was no running away now. I walked slowly towards them, my gaze fixed a determinably ahead despite all the eyes I could feel on me.

Soroya launched herself on me as soon as I reached them. I hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured. She finally let me go and I pulled back. To my utter horror I felt my eyes fill with tears again. I stared at the ground and blinked furiously, no way was I going to cry again, not here at least. The rest of my friends softly spoke their condolences. I just nodded, still feeling the overwhelming feeling that I was about to cry again.

"Well I'm glad your back," Soroya tried to say brightly, the rest of my friends quickly agreed with her. I sniffled.

"Erm… Amy?" A voice asked uncertainly behind my back.

I quickly tried to wipe all evidence of any tears from my cheeks before I turned around. I came face to face with Lee, Ty's brother. I almost had to look up at him to see his face; I guess I never realized how tall he was before. "Oh hi, Lee," I said.

"Hi," he repeated. "I just wanted to say sorry, about your mom and all."

"Thanks, Lee," I said gratefully. "That means a lot."

He nodded his head. I thought he was going to walk away but he stopped and turned back to me. "About Ty…" he began hesitantly.

"I don't want to talk about him," my voice hardened substantially.

"Oh, well I just wanted to say that he's an idiot." A small giggle escaped my lips at that, Lee sounded so serious. A smile graced Lee's lips too. "You're really great Amy," he complimented me, "Ty was stupid to let you go."

I smiled; at least his brother was more considerate. "Thanks but," I paused unsurely. "It was both our faults I guess."

"You could call him," Lee suggested casually. My face darkened. Lee noticed. "What?" he asked slowly.

"I did call him," I responded. "He never called me back."

Lee seemed only marginally surprised. "I think he lost his phone," Lee explained helpfully.

"You don't have to make up excuses for him, it's not your fault," I told Lee. Lee seemed about to object but I continued, "I guess something's just weren't meant to be, right?" I tried to say lightly. Key word being: tried.

"Um yeah," Lee said uncomfortably. "I should be going," he said eventually. "Bye," he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

As I turned back around to face my friends again I caught sight of Ty. He was sitting on top of a bench, surrounded by a bunch of his friends. They were all laughing. Suddenly, as if he felt my eyes on him he raised his head and his brilliant green eyes met mine. I felt my breath catch in my throat and I was physically unable to break the contact. Finally, someone said something to Ty and he was forced to break the eye lock to respond. I quickly turned back around before he could look up again.

Thankfully, five minutes later the bell rang, signaling that we had ten minutes to go to our lockers and get to homeroom. Everyone began to wander towards the front doors. I walked besides my friends, slowly. We were passing the benches where Ty and his group were located when they finally decided to move. I didn't see Ty, he was undoubtedly somewhere in the middle of his big group. I did, however, see Ashley. She was perched on top of one of the benches, legs crossed in front of her looking more perfect than she should. When she saw me her face brightened sickeningly and she smiled widely and waved.

"Oh, Amy!" she called out. The rest of her group silenced to hear what she was going to say, or what I was going to do. I kept my gaze turned resolutely forwards, refusing to look at her.

"I was right, wasn't I?" she yelled giddily. I was confused but didn't say anything. We had passed the benches and the school doors were insight. But that didn't stop Ashley as she called after my retreating back. "I told you he'd drop you and come back to me!" she said something else but I wasn't paying attention.

I walked a little bit faster, ahead of my friends now, eager to get into the building. My stomach churned nauseatingly at the sound of Ashley and her friend's high cackles.

I knew it. I knew he'd be back with her.

School had yet to start and this was already, officially, the worst day. I was tempted to just leave and not wait to see what other horrors the day had in store for me. But, not eager to face my dad and his new attitude I kept walking, straight ahead without looking back.

**Commander In Chief**

_After school_

I was up and out of my seat as soon as the final bell rang. I dashed to my locker and grabbed my books, stuffing them into my bag before I pushed my way through the crowded halls, desperate to get to the doors. I walked quickly to the parking lot, waving goodbye to my friends. I jumped into my Jeep Liberty and started the engine.

I was just about to back up when I saw Ty approaching through the windshield. Upon seeing I was about to leave he broke into a jog. "Wait," I didn't hear the word but I saw his lips move. I shook my head sadly and backed out of the parking spot and drove away. I made the mistake of glancing in the rearview mirror once and saw Ty standing in the parking space I had just evacuated, a funny expression on his face. Before I could analyze it any further I snapped my gaze back to the road.

When I arrived home I parked my car in the driveway and, leaving my bag in the car, headed down to the stables without changing out of my school clothes first. I went into the office, first, to see Lou. I stepped in and my greeting died on my lips as I saw that she was on the phone. She glanced up at me briefly when she heard me enter and held up a finger, indicating that I should wait a moment.

"Yes sir," she said into the receiver in her business voice. "One moment, let me just find the papers," she said. She clutched the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she turned her chair around and pulled open a drawer on a filling cabinet. Not a minute later she spun back around, a manila folder clutched in her hands. "Alright, I've got it." She paused as the person on the other line spoke. "Of course," she said. "If I could just have your name and address…" she scribbled something down on a paper. "Thank you very much, Mr. Henderson, for your interest in Gypsy May, we'll be expecting you tomorrow at noon. Have a nice day." She hung up the phone and turned to me. She opened her mouth to greet me but I beet her to it.

"Lou, what was that?" I asked slowly. "Gypsy May was mom's horse."

"I know," Lou sighed, defeated. She rubbed her eyes wearily. "That was someone calling about her; she's up for sale, Amy."

"_What_?" I gasped in shock. "Since when?"

"Dad decided a few days ago," Lou replied.

"A few days ago? But we can't sell Gyps!" I exclaimed.

"It wasn't my decision, Amy," Lou told me sadly. "I don't want to see her go any more than you do but…"

"How _could_ he?" I exclaimed, the hurt painfully present in my voice. "Gypsy May was mom's horse," I repeated feebly.

The phone rang shrilly again before Lou could respond. She gave me an apologetic look but reached for it anyway. "Heartland," she began, "Lou Fleming speaking, how may I help you?"

I slipped out of the office, leaving Lou to do her job, and went looking for dad. I finally found him in the show horse barn (the one Commander In Chief was in). He was talking to one of the stable hands.

"Dad, can I talk to you?" I asked immediately as I reached his side.

"I'm busy, Amy," he answered me. The stable hand, Ben I think it was, waved and walked away, back to his work. Dad, not paying me any attention, continued down the barn aisle and disappeared into the tack room. I followed him. He was assessing the saddle racks.

"Dad," I began hesitantly, already well aware he didn't want to talk to me. When I spoke again it was in a rush. "Why are you selling Gypsy May?"

Dad sighed but kept his eyes on the racks. He marked something on a clipboard he held in his hands. "Not now, Amy," he said.

"Gypsy May is mom's horse!" I exclaimed anyway. "You can't sell her!"

"I am in charge here," dad responded. "I can sell, or do anything for that matter, that I want."

"But she's mom's horse!" I said again.

"She _was_ your mother's horse," dad pointed out acidly. "However, she has no use for a horse now and Gypsy May is taking up a stall that could be used for another horse," dad concluded.

"We have plenty of stalls!" I argued.

Finally, dad turned to me. "I do not want to have this discussion Amy!" he roared. I stepped back, startled. "That horse has no reason to stay. She's going to the first person who wants her and that's final!"

The familiar, tell tale prickling at the back of my eyes arrived. "But..." I tried again.

"That's final Amy!" Dad stated again. He turned back to the racks and I knew I was dismissed. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as the cool tears caressed the burning flesh. I fled from the tack room and down the barn aisle, blinded by my tears, having only instinct tell me which way to the door. I continued running until something stopped me. Actually, it was more like a 'someone'. A 'someone' I ran into and to keep me from falling gripped my shoulders.

"Sorry, sorry," I gasped in surprised and tried to clear my tears from my face, which was not easy, with the person holding my arms and all.

"That's okay," a horribly familiar voice answered.

I looked up and jumped backwards in surprise, it was Ty. His hands fell to his sides and his amused smile dissolved when he saw my tears. "Oh sorry!" I gasped again. "What are you doing here?" I managed to ask, suspiciously.

"We're here to look at Commander In Chief," a new voice answered. I looked up, Ty's mom, standing in my barn with all her glory. She was dressed in immaculate full seat, white breeches, spotless and shinning, high, dressage boots, a white turtleneck and a black vest zipped up to the top. My stomach sank. I was not in the mood for this, not now. "Ty didn't tell you we were coming?" she asked questioningly with a glance at Ty.

Ty shifted his feet uncomfortably. "I…"

"No, he didn't," I interrupted him. Ty scowled, I scowled back.

"Oh, well, this isn't a bad time is it? We can come back later," Liz said. Her facial expression hinted at my tears.

"Uh, now is fine," I responded. "It's just my dad…" I offered as some sort of explanation.

Liz smiled warmly and relived me. "I understand. I'm sorry about your mother, Brad is too, he sends his condolences," she added.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. But, this was weird; I thought Liz hated me… "So, did you just want to see Commander In Chief?" I questioned, trying my best to be professional, while still giving Ty the cold shoulder. I purposefully stressed Chief's whole name, Ty flinched. I was satisfied.

"I'd like to ride him," Liz began, "If you think he's ready," she held me under her sharp, blue eyed gaze, scrutinizing.

"Um…" I trailed off, looking, I hoped, unsure. I COULD tell Mrs. Baldwin that Chief wasn't ready, to make Ty suffer of course. I sighed, "He's great, his stalls right over here," I lead her down the aisle to Chief's stall. I couldn't do that to Ty, no matter how mad I was at him I still… loved him. I probably always will.

As we approached, Chief's big, elegant, bay head shot over the stall door and he whinnied and bobbed and shook his head around in excitement when he saw who it was. Liz stroked his head fondly for a moment before Chief went on to but Ty in the chest. I quickly walked away, into the tack room, to get Chief's tack. Dad was still in there, doing something. I remained silent as I walked to Chief's rack. I picked up his saddle, saddle pads, girth and bridle. I turned to walk out of the tack room.

"What are you doing?" Dad's voice echoed after me.

"I'm getting Commander In Chief's things," I responded tightly, not turning to face him.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously. I could almost feel his eyes narrowing behind my back.

"Liz and Ty are here, to look at Chief," I answered. I shifted my weight from foot to foot in irritation.

Dad was silent for a few long seconds. "Fine," he said eventually.

I continued out of the tack room without saying anything else.

"Don't forget to make dinner later!" dad yelled after me. I was almost to Chief's stall and Liz and Ty turned around at his raised voice. I flushed furiously.

"Whatever," I muttered furiously as I plunked the saddle and the rest of the equipment down on the saddle rack. "I forgot the grooming kit," I said in irritation. I started too turned around but someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Its fine," Ty said amusedly. He dropped my arm hurriedly after a moment. "Look," he pointed at Chief. I looked into the stall curiously. The rays of light streaming in from the window bathed Chief's coat in glistening crystals. The sun reflected off of his expertly groomed coat.

"Oh," I said. "Someone must have groomed him earlier." I slide the bolt on the door open without another word. I turned halfway back around to grab Chief's tack. I had almost had it when suddenly, it was gone. Ty had it nestled in his strong arms.

"I'll do it," he assured me. I shrugged and backed up, opening the door further in the process. I closed the door once he was through, leaving it open just a crack. I stood quietly as Ty tacked up Chief, Liz watched intently to see what Chief would do, which, obviously, was not much. All he did was throw his head up and prance around slightly when he saw Ty with his saddle. Ty quickly clamed him down, he, Chief, snorted excitedly when the saddle pad brushed across his withers and his muscles quivered anxiously as Ty pulled the girth under his stomach.

"So," Liz's voice surprised me. I turned my head and saw that she was watching me intently. "What have you done with Chief so far?" she asked me.

"Well," I began, "When he first got here I gave him some of the Bach Flower remedies that my family is know for using, just to help him settle in. He settled in fast than I lunged him and he was fine so I rode him, again he was fine, perfect actually. I thought that maybe there might have been a problem with his back and he was in pain. I gave him more of the natural remedies, to ease any pain he may have had, and the vet came and checked him out and recommended the chiropractor come see him. So," I continued, taking a breath, "Chiropractor came, he said he couldn't find anything wrong with Chief. Than, I tried him with the saddle that, uh, Ty had been using in the show thinking that maybe it was rubbing or pinching him. He was fine, Ty rode him, Chief was perfect," I concluded.

"Hmmm," Liz made the sound in the back of her throat. Even her 'hmmm' sounded classy and elegant; it was light and a dainty soprano. "So what have you found out about why he acted that way?" her eyes narrowed slightly.

I shifted uncomfortably under the piercing aqua blue gaze. "Oh erm… uh, well, at the show two weeks ago Sunny, my horse, started acting exactly like Chief did and the vet took a blood sample," I felt it best to just skip over the whole part where I was unconscious. "The test came back showing that Sunny had tested positive for a drug called _Rabidus Equus, _it's an ancient drug that…"

"I know what it is," Liz cut in.

"Oh, okay, of course. Well, according to the lap results there was a high level of the drug in Sunny's blood. I talked with Ty and he told me about the drug and what it's made of and the effects and we, basically, determined that Chief had also been under the influence of _Rabidus Equus _whenTy had his accident so… yeah. We had our suspicions about this one guy that was in our class but…" I trailed of. "I guess we never did anything about it," I finished.

"We should though," came Ty's voice. He was standing in front of the stall door, the reins we re held loosely in his hands. "We can still catch Daniel," Ty said with a grin. I looked away before its brilliance could affect me too much. "You know," Ty joked, "Catch the bad guy in the act and all."

"We don't even know if it was him," I responded hardly. Why was Ty acting like nothing had happened? That everything was perfect and happy between us?

"Well he's our best guess," Ty looked at me quizzically. I looked away again. "Come on," he urged playfully, apparently choosing to bypass my skepticism. "We have to try _something_."

"Why?" I responded icily. "It's over, just forget about it." I didn't mean it, I wanted to catch who ever had harmed the horses, I think I was kind of talking about something else.

Ty looked hurt. "So we just let him get away?" Ty sounded like he was getting a little mad now too.

"I don't care, if you want to catch him so bad why don't you? I have bigger things to worry about at the moment. The least of my problems is some random guy at a horse show."

Liz's voice cut through the thick tension hovering between us like a knife. "Shall we get started than?"

"Yes," I said, tearing my eyes from Ty's. "I'll show you where the ring is."

I opened the door and Ty led Chief into the aisle without as much as a glance in my direction. They followed me as I walked out of the barn and down the path that led to where all the rings were located. I glanced around quickly and chose a ring that wasn't being used. "We can go in here," I announced as I reached the gate.

"Actually," Liz spoke up, "Do you have a ring without jumps? A dressage ring perhaps?"

"Oh yeah, sure," I responded quickly. I turned and started walking back down the path in the direction of the dressage rings. Approaching us was the stable hand my dad had been talking to earlier, Ben Stillman, he was riding his horse, What Luck or Red, as was his stable name. Ben boarded Red here at Heartland and worked to keep his stall. "You can go in there Ben! We're going to a dressage ring," I called over to him when he started to turn away; the ring we were just at was the last free ring.

Ben grinned widely and waved as he passed us. "Thanks Amy!" he pushed Red into a trot and the leggy chestnut picked up the spring step neatly.

"No problem," I replied with a smile of my own. I notice Ty's face darken as he watched and heard our exchange. I made sure to add, "I'll see ya later, Ben!" just to get on Ty's nerves. Hey, if he can get back together with _Ashley_ than why can't I flirt? Besides, I wasn't even flirting, he was my stable hand, I think I'm entitled to talk to him. But let Ty make of it what he will.

"Yeah, see you!" Ben turned around in the saddle and called back to me. He grinned and waved once more before slipping into the ring and focusing on Red. Ben was hoping to make the nationals with Red this year, they deserve it too. They've worked really hard; Ben and Red are a great team. Despite some of Ben's methods of training not being compliant with the Heartland way, his ways work well, for Red, and Red responds willingly to those methods.

Finally, we came to the dressage rings. There are a couple of them but I led Liz over to the most formal one, getting the impression that that was the one she wanted to ride in, her eyes just locked on it. It was full sized, 20m x 60m or 65ft x 197ft. the ring was rectangular and enclosed by a short, white fence, probably about a foot or a foot and half in height all around except for at letter 'A' where the entrance was. The letters were displayed all around the ring on white cubes. The sand had just been raked so there were no hoof prints presents on the smooth, almost impenetrable seeming surface.

Liz took the reins from Ty and led Chief into the ring. I headed to the opposite end of the ring, letter 'C' where there was our single judges box. Normally, this is where the Chief Judge would sit, there would be two other boxes on either side of him and one at letter 'B' and another at letter 'E', 'B' and 'E' were opposite each other in the center of the ring. We just had the Chief Judge's box so there was someplace to sit while watching, also, so the rider could practice his or her salute. Our Chief Judge's box was like a white pentagonal gazebo with a tan shingle roof but the two parallel sides were closed and the straight face was left open. The point at the head of the pentagon was as a white fence, the box was completely open,

I didn't look behind myself but I could feel Ty following me. I slipped into the box and sat down in one of the chairs. Ty came in a second later and sat next to me. I was thankful he didn't say anything.

I turned my attention back to Liz and Chief. Liz lifted the leather reins over Chief's head and looped her arm through them and pulled a pair of black, leather gloves out of a pocket on her vest. Chief lifted his head up into the wind and the wind blew his mane and forelock around him elegantly. Chief's attention snapped back to Liz as she pulled down the stirrups and, after making them the right length she mounted. Despite Chief's incredibly tall height she didn't even have to bounce on her foot to get up. Liz settled into the saddle quickly and, using invisible signals, pressed Chief into a smooth trot.

When Ty rode Chief it was customary for Chief to goof around a bit at the beginning, out of pure enjoyment, never spite. But, with Liz, Chief immediately focused and went to work. Liz put him through his paces and completed figure eights and circles, serpentines and half circles, flying changes and perfect transitions. She had Chief extend and shorted his strides in all of his paces. Liz sat tall, straight and effortless in the saddle, she hardly moved at all. She was like a carving in stone, but she wasn't stiff and rigid, she was sitting light and was relaxed, the reins were held between her gloved fingers lightly but even with just the soft contact she had on Chief's mouth, Chief arched his next perfectly, never relaxing his carriage. It looked almost natural for Chief.

"We need to talk," Ty's voice made me tear my eyes away from the musicless dance happening in the ring before me.

"About what?" I responded, knowing perfectly well what he was talking about. "Wait I know," I slapped my forehead like I had just remembered something. "Should we talk about how you never even called me back? I left like five messages on your phone." I glared at Ty and he flinched slightly at my words.

"I lost my phone," Ty said simply.

I snorted. "So, you're still going with that?" his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You even had to get Lee to tell your lies for you."

"Okay, I don't know what you're talking about but, I did loose my phone."

"So you never got any of my messages?" I asked, slightly hopeful.

Ty paused and debated internally if he should tell me whatever was to come next. "I got the first one," he eventually said. That wasn't what I had wanted to hear. I remained silent. "I was going to call you back but…" Ty trailed off. "I didn't know what to say, we'd both acted stupidly," he finished lamely.

"And loosing your phone fits into this all where…?"

"I left it on the couch and I guess it fell in between the cushions," Ty said. I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "I was talking to my mom and than she left and I checked my phone. Than she called me for dinner and I accidentally left my phone on the couch."

"But you'd already gotten my message. Are there no other phones in your house, excuse me, I meant your palace," I corrected myself.

"I just thought," Ty started, visibly fighting to remain calm, "That with everything that had happened, with your mom and all, that it would be better if…"

Ty, of course, was right. Somewhat. I still think he should have called or came over or something. But no. He got together with Ashley. I bet _they_ had a jolly good time while I was home, alone. I wasn't going to say anything but it just slipped out. "You moved on quickly."

"I… what?" Ty asked in confusion. I didn't blame him, for being confused I mean, I had changed the topic completely, without any warning. I didn't say anything though. "Okay, I don't know what you're talking about, Amy, but I know that I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said."

My heart soared, he was sorry! He said he didn't mean it!

But, there was still that one little detail.

"It's a little late for that, isn't it Ty?"

"I…" Ty sounded confused.

"You got back together with Ashley," I supplied.

"What? No I didn't," Ty denied my accusation.

"Yeah, right, Ty."

"Where did you get that idea?" Ty asked. He was laughing now. I was fuming.

"How about Ashley herself? Come on Ty!" I exclaimed at the look on his face. "You were sitting _right there_ when she chose to yell it out! Everyone heard."

"And you believed it?" Ty asked sounding shocked. His voice was astounded, like only an idiot would believe it.

"So now I'm _stupid_?" I accused him.

"I didn't say that!" Ty quickly said.

"You implied it," I replied stonily.

"I… no. I didn't," Ty insisted. "I'm not back with Ashley," he said again.

"Okay," I said in a sing-song voice. It was clear that I didn't believe him.

Ty sighed and leaned back in his seat. He didn't say another word on the subject. His eyes focused back on Chief and his mom. "What did you mean earlier?" Ty asked suddenly. I didn't look at him; I kept my gaze straight ahead, unseeing. "When you said the thing with the horses and Daniel was the least of your problems? I thought that that was important. What could be…"

"Oh, I don't know," I interrupted Ty abruptly and sarcastically. "How about this, my mom just died. Or how about another one? My dad's completely turned, he's crazy. I don't get on at all with him anymore, _at all_," I stressed. I continued to blindly poor out my confessions. "He's never even home anymore; I don't know where he goes at night, just that he doesn't come home till early in the morning and he always smells of stale whiskey. I have to take care of Alex, I have to make him dinner,_ and_ breakfast, and make sure he does all his schoolwork and I have to supervise while he works Artemis. And, as if that's not enough, I have to do _my_ work, work the horses, exercise and spend time with Sunny and now, to top it all off, my father is selling Gypsy May, mom's horse," I concluded, feeling close to tears. "But if that's not important…" I trailed off.

"I'm sorry," Ty said softly after a moment of silence.

"It's not your fault," I replied bitterly. I took a deep breath. "Just forget it, forget everything. If you want to solve this whole mystery than go ahead, have fun but, don't count on me to do anything. There aren't enough hours in the day to finish everything as it is."

"I can help," Ty offered graciously. "I can help you here so that you have more time. I can…"

"That's real nice and all, Ty, but no. you have your own stuff to do. Just take Chief and forget about me."

"I can't forget about you," Ty said so softly that I wasn't sure if I had heard him properly.

"Well you better," I said firmly, my eyes still locked on the border of the forest in the distance. "Like you said, we're over."

Ty didn't respond. My heart was thudding forcefully against my chest; I wouldn't be surprised if Ty could hear it, that wasn't what I wanted.

Instead of saying what my heart was telling me to say, I turned back to Liz and Chief. After the half and hour work out Chief didn't look sweaty at all, there was only a small darker patch showing on his hindquarters, but, he wasn't breathing hard and didn't look over worked. Liz halted him in the middle of the ring and took her feet out of the stirrups. I thought she was going to dismount. Suddenly, she retook her stirrups and walked Chief back out to the rail. She walked alongside the fence until she got to the entrance, than she turned so she was positioned directly in the middle of the ring. Chief picked up neat walk, his hindquarters pushing him forwards. Liz rode him expertly down the center line, straight towards us, and stopped at 'X' (the center of the ring). The halt was a smooth, fluid movement and Chief stood squarely on the ground, his neck arched beautifully.

Liz looked at us for a moment; I leant forwards in my seat, intrigued.

Suddenly, Liz took both her reins in her left hand, bowed her head and dropped her right hand to her side. I immediately recognized it as the traditional salute that women used before and after dressage competitions. She kept the position for a respectable five seconds before she raised her head and took up her reins. Upon her signal, Chief picked up a fluid trot, tucking his chin in to his chest. Liz sat deep in the saddle. At the top of the ring, closest to us, Liz turned Chief to left and on the straightaway she asked him to extend his trot. Chief's leg's snapped forwards, straight and tight, and his powerful hind legs pushed off in the back.

I lost myself in the effortless, graceful dance of flowing patterns and shapes. Liz included extended and shortened forms of all Chief's paces, walk, trot and canter. They did _pirouettes_ in all three paces; a _pirouette_ is when the horse pivots on the hind leg and turns a complete circle. They did _passages_; an elevated, springy trot. They did _piaffes_; a _passage _with little, if any, forward movement. The did half-passes; a movement when the horse moves diagonally across the arena, taking good sized steps forwards and sideways, and keeping his body bent in the direction in which he is moving. His shoulders are allowed to be just fractionally ahead of the hindquarters as he makes this movement. His outside hind and foreleg cross over in front of his inside hind and foreleg.

Some of the most difficult, challenging movements in dressage, only a very skilled rider and horse could ride these. I watched, stunned into silence.

Liz slowed Chief at 'F', from where I was sitting at the top of the ring it was the bottom left corner. Chief did a _pirouette _at the trot and halted once he was facing in our direction. Than, he side-stepped and halted again on 'D' (a point at the bottom middle of the ring) and continued to 'X' at a shortened trot, his hooves snapping beneath him cleaning. Liz, again, moved her reins to her left hand, bowed her head and dropped her right hand to her side in a flourish. After another five seconds Liz lifted her head but kept both reins in her left hand. She loosed her hold and gave Chief a long rein, which he gladly accepted, and nudged him into a free-walk. She walked Chief around the ring to cool him off. There was some white foam around Chief's mouth and there were patches of sweat on his shoulders, hindquarters and down the top half of his hind legs. But, Chief didn't look tired, he kept his energetic walk going but stretched his neck out and shook his head around. Liz laughed and patted his damp shoulder lovingly.

"Wow," I finally was able to gasp.

"Yeah," Ty said, there was a light smile on his face. "Mom used to compete in dressage," he supplied.

"I gathered that much," I responded, completely astounded at what I had just seen. When I voiced my thoughts to Ty he laughed and said,

"Yeah, she was great. Dressage was her life. She made the United States Olympic Equestrian team about 20 years back," he told me. I could, however, detect a slight sadness in his voice.

"What happened?" I asked. "I don't remember her name, she was sure to have won the gold with that display."

"Yes," Ty said softly. "I remember that routine, she's done it before when she didn't think anyone was watching. It was the routine she was going to use in the freestyle dressage competition in the Olympics."

"What was her horse like?" I asked, intrigued, instantly forgetting the tension that had previously existed between Ty and myself.

"Dancing Beauty, that was her name, mom said she called her Beau for short. She was huge, 17.2 hands I think, a Holstein Hanoverian mix, a gorgeous mover, tall, well built and muscular. Beau's actually the Great Aunt, or something, to Chief, her color was exactly the same as Chief's is. Mom got her when she was just a few weeks old. Beau's mother had died and the farm she was born at wanted to sell her. Mom was young, only 12. She rescued her and trained her. Deciding to focus herself on dressage, mom had always been fascinated by it. Beau turned out to be a. astonishing dressage horse; she soaked up the knowledge like a sponge. Mom and Beau won all the shows they were entered in, no one even came close to them. When she was 19, mom tried out for the Olympic Equestrian team. She made it, easily.

"What happened?" I asked again.

"There was an accident," Ty began, "It was only a week or so before the Olympics were scheduled to start. There was a fire in one of the barns the U.S horses were staying in. Earlier that day there had been a hay delivery. The hay was left outside and it rained. Hands brought the hay in as fast as they could. They hayloft was directly above Beau's stall. When wet hay dries, if it goes wrong, it can start a fire. The fire started and caught fast. Everyone tried to get the horses out, all the others were okay. The burning wood fell from above and hit Beau's back." I gasped in horror. Ty nodded grimly but continued in the same low voice he had been using, "The burning wood and hay scorched her back, severe, severe burns. They had to put Beau down; she would have been in pain the rest of her life. If the burns hadn't killed her the trauma would have. Mom stopped competing after that."

"That's horrible," I whispered.

"It is," Ty said sounding regretful. "I know it still hurts her, even to this day. Some begged for her to train their horses in A-Level dressage but she refused. She told me that Chief is the only one she taught, the first horse she was able to do dressage work on again after the accident. They've formed a real special bond, Chief and my mom. He'll only do that kind of work for her."

"That's amazing," I breathed. I was awed at the horrific tale.

Five minutes later we left and joined Liz at the gate. She just smiled wistfully at my praise for her riding. Ty and him mom headed back up the driveway towards their car once Chief had been settled back into his stall.

"So," I started, "What are you going about Chief?"

Ty looked at his mother hopefully. Liz paused for a moment but than smiled brightly. "Yes, Chief can come home. I have to say, I have missed the little devil." Ty hugged him mom gratefully.

As I watched them drive away I, I felt conflicting emotions. I was happy, on one hand, because Chief got to go home and Ty got to be happy. On the other hand, I hated Liz's decision. Chief was my last real link to Ty, without Chief Ty had no reason to come to Heartland and I had no reason to see him anymore. I didn't want to believe it, despite what I had said earlier, but I guess that now, we were really over.

**Commander In Chief**

_Later that night_

"Sorry," I said regretfully to Alex as I placed his dinner in front of him. Tonight, dinner consisted of spaghetti and meatballs. Not the best dinner possible, especially when I cooked it, but it was substantially better than some of the other thing's I had given Alex to eat in the past week. "I just make some soup or something if you want that instead," I offered.

"Its fine," Alex assured me. "This isn't your job anyway," he mumbled. "Dad shouldn't be making you cook every night."

"Well we can't do anything about it," I said as I plunked down in a chair and twirled some of the slightly overcooked spaghetti around my fork. "This is just the way it's going to be now."

"I hate it," Alex groaned.

"My cooking or life?" I questioned him playfully, trying to bring some humor into the conversation.

"Life," Alex clarified. "Ever since mom died… dad's changed. He's not the same. I hardly see him at all. I saw him once today and he just told me to go do something else because he was working," Alex said disgustedly. We were silent for a minute. Alex took a bite of spaghetti and grinned at me after he had chewed and swallowed. "You're cooking's not that bad," he tried to assure me politely. I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "Well it could be worse," Alex said innocently with a shrug.

"Hey!" I exclaimed and threw a napkin at him.

Alex laughed and easily ducked the paper napkin that, due to its light weight, hardly went anywhere at all. It just went up in the air and floated down pathetically to land on the floor.

"Nice throw," he scoffed jokingly.

"Ha-ha-ha," I said dryly. I picked a meatball off of my full plate and threw it at Alex. It hit the side of his face, his cheek. The meatball left a red sauce mark. I practically died from laughing so hard.

Alex picked the meatball off of the floor, aimed it at me and swung his arm back but before he could throw it dad clomped into the kitchen. Well, this was certainly early for him.

He stopped by the counter and turned to face us. "What's going on here?" he questioned us suspiciously. He caught sight of the spot on Alex's head where there was a glob of tomato sauce. "We don't play with our food in this house," he told us sternly. I remained silent; Alex did too and picked up his napkin to wipe the sauce away. "I thought you would have known better than that, Amy."

"Sorry," I muttered under my breath sarcastically. "Did you want something?" I asked him bluntly.

"Yes, in fact I did," he responded to my question. "I want to tell you that I'm going away for a couple of weeks."

"What?" I asked in shock. "Where are you going? Why?"

"I'm going to Australia," dad responded. My eyes widened. "It's a… business trip, of sorts."

"But, but…" I stuttered at a lose for words.

"Who's going to watch us?" Alex inquired.

"Amy's going to be in charge of you, Alex," dad answered.

"What!" I exclaimed. "I can't…"

"Don't be ridiculous Amy!" dad berated me. "It's only for a week or two. You're 16 you can handle it. If you really need help than there's Ally and John, there house is by the barns." Ally and John were a husband and wife pair who supervised the barn's at night and during the day too. My family had supplied them with a house on our property.

"Fine," I sighed, I didn't like it but I knew there was no use in arguing. I was defeated. A quick glance to Alex told me that he wasn't happy with the arrangements either. "When are you leaving?" I sighed out the question.

"Tonight."

**a/n: **wow! That was long, and pretty good, if I do say so myself. Let me know if it's horrible though. You should see me right now; I have like five HUGE horse books opened on my desk to the dressage sections. Of course I looked through my zillion and one huge books before I remembered that I had a smaller, paper back book. Oh well. lol. I want to do dressage really badly now. Well, I'm sorry to say that this is the last update for a bout a week, The Peak included. I'm almost done one of my other storied in another category but haven't updated in over a month. There are only like three chapters left though. Review!


	18. Trouble

**Authors Note**

Heya everyone! Now since I've already been asked why I've changed my name I'll tell you. I suffer from sever boredom, hehe. And this was just my way of having something to do. And besides, I was bored of Akers2, I liked it and all but I needed something new. Now, Vampiric Skater… no idea how I came up with that. I'll start with saying that I am sorry to say that I am not actually a vampire (sobsob) I wish I was; they're the hottest things ever. Neither am I a skater, which I wish I was. BUT I have successfully mastered the art of standing on a skateboard, pushing off and going down hills and stuff. And am currently lobbying hard for my mom to buy me my own skateboard but, I think she wishes I was like all girly and whatnot. Tough luck because I'm not! She doesn't enjoy my Converses much though… or my Etnies come to think of it… or my taste in music. Humph. Not my problem. But just for the sake of saying it: I'm not emo, punk or Goth or anything like that. Some emo music is good but no way am I one! But here's the big shocker, my mom's buying me the My Chemical Romance (MCR) messenger bag I want! Oh and excuse all mindless rambling on my part, I'm currently suffering from the effects of drawing on my notebook with a Sharpie (love those things) for the whole Science period. Again. I'll never lean.

So there ya have it, my new name! I might just change it back later anyway. Yep so that's all I have to say. The sad part is, I honestly have no idea what story I'm about to start typing… either BfS or CIC… hmmm, decisions. I'd rather do TP but not enough people reviewed yet :( oh well, I think I'll write some CIC. Review for whatever story this ends up being… -Steph

Oh and if you happen to see a story that comes up in this category that has something to do with vampires… yep, that's me. Actually look out for one because there's one coming! It's going to be called "Vampires Will Never Hurt You."

**Disclaimer: **Based LOOSELY off of stuff created and owned by Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 17**

_Friday, Green Acres Prep_

I pulled into the parking lot at normal time today. Again I parked on the totally opposite end of the lot from that cursed black Escalade EXT.

I trudged wearily over to my friends and tried my hardest not to fall asleep and to actually pay attention to what they were saying. Needless to say, it didn't work so well. I got like four hours of sleep last night, and I'm not exaggerating even a little. I suppose this will be normal me for awhile while my dad is on his "business trip" in Australia, of all the places in the world he's going the farthest away possible. Almost. He's never had to go that far for a business trip. Usually, they're in the same country. And they only last for the weekend or a few days… not a couple weeks.

But whatever, that's not my problem right now. Maybe I'll grow to like the dark circles under my eyes but somehow I doubt it.

"… Right?" Soroya said. Everyone was starring at me now. Whoops.

"Uh… what?" I asked stupidly not having heard a word of what Soroya had just said.

"Were you even listening to a word I was saying?" Soroya demanded, hands on her hips.

"Uh… no," I finally said. "What?"

"Amy!" Soroya exclaimed in exasperation. "What's with you today?"

"Sorry," I sighed and rubbed a hand across my weary eyes as if trying to rub away the sleepiness. "My dad just left for Australia for an uncertain amount of time and I'm taking care of Alex," I offered them as an explanation.

After five minutes or so of talking about randomness Rebecca finally asked the question I'd been waiting for. "So," she began trying to sound casual, "What happened between you and Ty?"

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly.

"Yeah right," Jamie snorted. "Everyone knows you're broken up… no ones knows why though…" she hinted at me to tell them.

"It's nothing," I said again, uneasily. My eyes were fixed on the grass growing around our feet.

"Well did you guys have a fight?" Meghan asked next.

"Yes," I decided to say. "And it was stupid," I added quickly.

"What did you fight about?" Rachel asked after my confession of sorts.

"It's not important," I mumbled. I felt the color rise to my cheeks just _thinking_ about that day.

Soroya had remained quiet the whole time; I knew she wondered why too, I hadn't even told her what had happened. "Well," she began, "It has to have been important if you broke up over it," she said logically.

"Wait," Rebecca jumped in. Her eyes were bright; it was as though she thought she had figured it out. "You guys didn't… you know, did you?" she asked in a low voice.

I flinched a little but I think it went unnoticed. Fortunately. "No," I said with a short, harsh laugh, my eyes still fixated on the ground. "We didn't _do_ anything," I said a bit harsher then I had meant to.

"Well then what…"

"Nothing, okay? Just drop it, it's not important. What happened was stupid, it's not important. We're over, okay?" I desperately pleaded with them. "Ty's not important," I said, I hope they couldn't tell how untrue those words were to me. "He's just a high school boyfriend, I'll get over it," I said with a shrug. Once again I looked at the ground.

"So, you're not getting back together?" Rachel sounded disappointed.

"No," I said firmly.

"Well here comes Mr. Not-Important now," Meghan alerted me and gestured to a point over my shoulders.

I glanced behind my back hesitantly. Yep. Ty was walking my way, directly towards. He was even looking at me. That cemented the fact that he was coming to me.

I turned back to my friends. "I'm just going to go to the library," I said casually as I started to edge away from them. "You know, I forgot to do that… English thing last night," and then I walked away before any of them could question me further. I don't even think we had English homework.

I started walking towards the front of the school. My path would cross with Ty's eventually but I was hopeful that I would make it to the doors long before that time came.

I'd just walk right by him and pretend I never even saw him. Easy.

"Amy!" or I guess he could follow me and try to talk to me. Damn. I walked a little faster in hopes that he would just leave me alone. "I know you see, Amy," his voice came from behind me. He was following me. "Let's talk," he said in that annoyingly smooth and perfect voice of his. I guess I could have gone into the school and lost him inside the halls but… yeah he's the football player. I have a feeling he could have caught me, easily.

"What do you want, Ty?" I asked passively, doing my best to keep my voice emotionless. I turned around hesitantly to face him. Big mistake. Why does he have to be so damn hot? I mean he's only wearing a pair of jeans, black Adidas Sambas and a heather gray Baldwin Ways sweatshirt. And yet, my insides still managed to melt. I refused to meet those abnormally green eyes of his, I'd be gone if I did.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything I said that day. It was stupid. And I think that we should ge…" Ty began.

My eyes widened as I figured out where he was going with all of this. "Don't even say it, Ty!" I warned him.

"… t back together," he concluded like I hadn't even spoken.

"I told you not to say it," I said furiously.

"But why?" he sounded genuinely confused now. "I thought… what I mean is, I found my phone," he said lightly. "I thought that you wanted to…" he trailed off.

"Things change, right, Ty?" I replied in a 'sweet' voice.

"Yeah but they don't have to," Ty said quickly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked warily.

Ty sighed. "I didn't mean what I said. All the stuff about being wrong about thinking we were good together… I was wrong."

"It's a little late for apologies, Ty," I said.

I could see Ty beginning to get frustrated.

"Look, just leave me alone, okay? It's really not that hard," I said. Of course I was looking of somewhere in the distance.

"Don't you see?" Ty asked me. "It is hard. I like… no love being around you. Don't you see?"

"No, I guess I don't," I said coldly. "I don't see how you didn't call me back. I'm sure you knew my number. All you had to do was pick up the God damned phone, Ty, and everything would be hunky dory." Oh my god… did I just say… hunky _dory_? Someone shoot me now please.

"I was stupid. That was stupid I should have called you but I didn't. That's the fact. Can't we just… start over?" he suggested hopefully.

"Go and start over with Ashley," I suggested helpfully.

"What the hell, Amy?" Ty exploded suddenly. We were defiantly beginning to attract some attention to ourselves. "Why is everything about _her_ all off a sudden?" he demanded. "Are you jealous of Ashley or something?"

That was the final straw. No way was I jealous of the blonde bimbo. The hurt, the sheer fact that it had come from Ty hurt more. I turned on me heel and headed towards my original destination. I was beginning to hate the large front lawn of Green Acres Prep. It this was my old school back in England I would have been inside the school twice by now.

"Amy, wait!" Ty called after me. I kept walking, I started going faster. "I didn't mean that," his voice sounded sincere enough.

"Leave me the fuck ALONE!" I yelled. I whirled around and I came nose to chest with Ty. "Despite what you seem to think, it's really not that hard, Ty! People do it all the time anyway!" I shouted.

People were defiantly starring now. We didn't pay them any attention though.

"Just leave me alone, Ty," I added again for emphasis.

"Can't we just talk?" he asked again.

"No."

"Come one, Amy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, it just came out," he tried to tell me.

"Yeah whatever, Ty," I tried to continue walking towards the school, my original destination, but Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me back. He opened his mouth to say something but I beat him to it. "Jesus, Ty!" I exclaimed, exasperated "Just come and get your horse from Heartland and then leave me the hell alone!" I shouted.

Ty looked hurt by my words. Good, he should. But apparently even the calm exterior of Ty Baldwin isn't fully impenetrable. If his next words were any indication at all.

"Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I was actually right about what I said," he spat out.

"Maybe you were," I replied icily. It didn't even cross my mind that I was basically insulting myself.

What Ty said next surprised me more then anything though. I wouldn't have been more surprised in Sunny talked to me when I got home later. "I heard your father's gone to Australia," he said haughtily.

"Who do you know that?" I demanded.

"I thought you would have figured it out by now, Amy. I'm a Baldwin. I can get whatever I want."

"I guess I was wrong about you too, Ty," I said with narrowing eyes. "I never thought you were vain."

"Well, you don't see my father running off to Australia now, do you?"

"At least my mother's not a bitch," I shot back.

Something flashed in Ty's eyes. When did we resort ourselves to having to insult each others parents?

Ty's jaw clenched and I could almost see all the things he wanted to say to me right now running through his head. Somehow he managed to refrain. Ty's self-control will never cease to amaze me. He looked upwards towards the bright, cloudless sky and let out a shaky breath before looking at me again.

"This is stupid," he finally said. I almost laughed but I didn't. "Can't you just think about it, Amy?" he came to as close to begging as I'd I've heard him.

"No," I said firmly. "There's nothing to think about. We're over, Ty. You're the one who said it," I reminded him.

"You're so damn stubborn, Amy," he said in exasperation.

"I could say the same for you," I bit back sharply.

"I'm admitting that I was wrong!" Ty yelled towards the sky. "Is there a reason you don't want to believe that? After what's been happening with your family, can you not trust me?" he asked softly.

My anger boiled and I glared at him. He seemed unfazed as he just looked back at me. Finally I regained control. "Fuck you," I hissed at him.

"Miss Fleming!" a shocked voice rang out behind me. I turned around slowly and my fears were confirmed. Mrs. Pierce. "I do not tolerate that kind of language among my students."

"Sorry, Mrs. Pierce," I mumbled looking down at the ground, ashamed. I should really start naming the grass, God only knows with the amount of time I'd been starring at this morning.

"Look at me when you are speaking, Miss Fleming!" she reprimanded me sternly.

I immediately looked up. "Yes, Mrs. Pierce," I answered robotically.

"I'm surprised and downright appalled with your behavior. Yours too, Mr. Baldwin," she added with a sharp glance at Ty. "I believe I've already spoken to the two of you about the appropriate conduct for this school." Her warning was left hanging clearly in the air between us. "Miss Fleming," she addressed me once again. "You have just suffered the loose of your mother, but that is no excuse for that kind of behavior. And Mr. Baldwin, you've been at this school since preschool. Your family donates a significant sum of money to this institution every year and you have remained out of trouble for the most part. Miss Fleming, you're new to this school but I believe I know you both well enough by now. I'm shocked that out of all the students here it's the two of you who have chosen to exhibit yourself in such a manner. I am not interested in personal matter, Mr. Baldwin," she said swiftly as Ty opened his mouth. He quickly shut it.

"Mr. Baldwin," she began again. "Your parents attended Green Acres too. They were quite the pair, according to my mother, never could seem to get along. You would never have guessed they'd end up married."

(a/n: sorry for the interruption! But to enjoy some priceless Liz and Brad moments please read Beau, for Short! Review too!)

"But," Mrs. Pierce continued, "Through all their differences at the time they were able to control themselves. For as long as Green Acres has been teaching the young people of the world, we've made it our job to teach our students more then geography, English or math. We're here to teach you about the real world, too. You must learn to behave in a respectful manner at all times. No matter whatever problems may be going on between you two personally. I do not make it my business to get involved with my students personal affairs but I understand that you two have broken up." I shifted uncomfortable under the sharp eyes of Mrs. Pierce. "I do not care to know under what circumstances this has accrued," she reminded us once again. "And how you conduct yourselves away from this school is your business, I hope you shall conduct yourselves in a civil and respectful manner, and not yell such profanities at each other though.

"I shall let you both off with another warning," she told us and I sighed gratefully. "But, Miss Fleming," she said noticing my gratefulness. "This is the last time you escape so easily. Mind you, I am not normally so lenient. Once again, I am not here to host your high school dramas, but I am here to educate you. To help you reach your full potential."

The school day started and I trudged from class to class. I purposefully ignored Ty every time we passed in the halls, which seemed like so many more time today then any other day.

I was finally able to relax once I was home at Heartland. I paid Sunny a quick visit before walking out of the barn to go up to the house to change into riding clothes. I thought I'd take a trail ride to calm down.

But then I saw the trailer pulling into the driveway. It was hunter green with a white stripe. It was sleek and shinny, new and obviously thee best money could buy. On the side it said "Baldwin Ways" in sharp, dominant lettering on both sides. The rear of the trailer displayed a huge Baldwin Ways emblem.

But, to my surprise getting out of the cab was not Ty. It was one of the Baldwin's stable hands. I watched as he looked around and then catching sight of the office headed in that direction. I quickly, against my better judgment, slipped into the barn Chief was in. I went into the tack room and put all the carrying cases back over the equipment. Then I grabbed Chief's traveling blankets.

I walked to his stall and Chief's big, bay head appeared over the half door at the sound of my approach. Out of habit, I rubbed the star between his eyes. I let myself into the stall quietly and took my time fastening up his leg wraps. All too soon I was done. I buckled on his blanket. The hunter green and fancy letters mocked me the whole time. Chief started getting excited. He must think he was going to a show.

Just as I finished I heard Lou and the Baldwin Ways hand coming down the aisle.

I peered over the door. "I got him ready," I said as they came to stand in front of the door.

"Great," Lou said with a bright smile.

"His things are all ready in the tack room," I told her.

Lou and the stable hand headed off to the tack room to get the rest of Chief's things.

Once they were out of the barn and loaded the trailer I turned back to Chief.

"I'll miss you, buddy," I whispered and rubbed his star again. Chief bobbed his head up and down and butted me in the side. I laughed softly and hugged him around the neck. I quickly brushed the tears that fell from my eyes away. I shouldn't be crying. I'd done this countless times before. Horses came to Heartland to be healed and then they left. Chief was no different.

At least that's what I tried to convince myself of.

After buckling on his leather halter and clipping on the leather lead rope, I led Chief out of the stall. I led him down the barn aisle slowly. Once we were outside his head lifted higher and his ears pricked. I led him towards the trailer where Lou and the man were waiting.

"Hey! There's my boy!" the man exclaimed once he caught sight of Chief. Chief whinnied eagerly. He clearly recognized the man. He knew he was going home now.

"Here," I said as I handed the man Chief's lead line. He accepted it and led Chief towards the trailer.

I gave Chief a quick pat on the neck before he disappeared into the dark confines of the expensive trailer.

Then after the man had thanked Lou and I for all our work and help he got into the cab or the truck.

The trailer and truck disappeared down the road. The Baldwin's emblem taunting me the whole way. Lou headed back to the office to do some more work but I stayed until the trailer had disappeared out of sight.

Chief was gone. I had no real connection with Ty anymore. I was just some person who had helped his horse.

**a/n:** it's short, too short. Oh well. I don't know what else to put in this chapter! And I can't really concentrate on this story, my mind is on other thing. :D Sadly, this story is almost over. A few more chapters, maybe around five or so. I'll update soon. Hope you liked it! Review! -Steph


	19. Sea monster attack

**Authors Note**

Guess what? Guess what? Guess what? GUEESS WHAT? I GOT AN AUTHENTIC, SIGNED PICTURE OF DAVID AKERS! EEEEEEEHHHHHHH! – squeals and falls off of chair—OMG! OMG! I am so excited! If you at all doubt that in anyway just ask Shawna, she had to listen to my excited-ness when I got it! Hehe. But OMG! I'VE BEEN WANTING A SIGNED DAVID AKERS PICTURE FOR SO LONG! EEEEEEEEEHHHHHH! Sorry if this chapter seems a bit off topic, I've got all these good ideas in my head for Baldwin Prince, CIC's sequel and I just HAVE to do something about it. Review! –Steph

**Question: **The Breeder's Cup comes AFTER the Triple Crown races, right? I'm pretty sure it does but not positive. And if so, how long after the Belmont is the Breeder's Cup?

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 18**

Ty's POV

"Do you require any assistance with Commander In Chief, Mr. Baldwin, Junior?" Andy, the groom I'd sent to pick Chief up from Heartland asked me as I helped him lower the trailer's ramp. Andy was the head groom here at Baldwin Ways. And he had taken to calling me Mr. Baldwin, Junior a few years back and now it was the favorite name for me around the yard. I'm not a 'junior' to anyone in my family though. It just came because they knew that someday I would be their boss just like my dad was now.

"No thanks, Andy," I said as the ramp touched the black pavement. "I can take it from here."

"Of course," Andy said with a kind smile. The corners of his hazel eyes crinkled in the corners. Before he left he patted Chief on his powerful, bay rump. Chief's tail twitched and he tossed his head around. I smiled, he knew he was home.

Andy walked back off down the path towards his office.

I entered the trailer through the small side door and grinned broadly at Chief. Chief whickered at me gently.

Once he was back inside his stall I hugged him around his neck. I patted his neck fondly and then rubbed the white star on his forehead, my good luck charm. Chief snorted and swayed his head around; his big, brown eyes sparkled with excitement. He shuffled around his stall and munched contentedly on the fresh hay the filled the black rack on the side of the stall. Then he snuffled at the water in the trough next to the hay and splashed some around.

He then pranced back across the width of the huge stall, his hooves sinking lightly into the fresh, soft bedding. He stopped directly in front of me and tossed his large head in the air and let out a piercing whinny. He was greeted with answering whinnies from his old friends in the stable.

"Show off," I said clearly to my horse. Chief just craned his neck around to look at me and made a noise that I would have sworn sounded just like a laugh. "Come on," I said with a laugh. "Let's get those traveling wraps off of you," I told my horse. Chief was still wearing that padded shipping halter, hunter green leg wraps, and hunter green traveling New Zealand blanket. I marveled at the way the Baldwin Ways logo and name danced across his back.

I folded the blanket over the stall door and placed the leg wraps over it. I retrieved Chief's normal winter blanket from the rack on the side of his stall and buckled it on Chief's back. The blanket, like all the others at my stable, was hunter green and a white border and silver piping. The Baldwin Ways crest was spread proudly across Chief's back and his name was stitched onto the side.

"You had an interesting month, didn't you, buddy?" I mussed out loud and patted Chief's strong shoulder through the thick winter blanket. Chief lowered his to my height and fixed his intelligent, brown eyes on me. I sighed.

"Ty! Are you in here?" my dads voice boomed through the barn. None of the horses so much as twitched at his loud entrance.

"I'm here!" I called over the stall door.

Dad caught sight of me in Chief's stall and walked down the wide aisle to stand in front of Chief's door. Chief stuck his head over the half stall door and dad patted him fondly.

"Haven't seen you in a while," dad said to Chief. "Nice to have you home." With a final pat to Chief, dad turned back to me. Chief wandered over to the window at the back of the stall and stuck his head outside. The breeze ruffled his mane and forelock as he called greetings to his other friends in the surrounding stables.

"What's up, dad?" I asked in wonder.

"Are you busy right now?" dad asked, barely containing the excitement that was present in his green eyes.

"Uh, no," I answered unsurely. I was going to call Amy later and see if she might talk to me again though, after what happened today at school I wasn't so confident.

"Good," dad grinned. "We're just about to take The Prince out for a workout. Come and watch."

I shook my head at my dad's obvious display of excitement. "Okay," I said to appease him.

"Good, let's go. The Prince is down on the track already." I hurried after my dad as his long stride carried him down the barn aisle swiftly. I reached his side as we exited the barn.

"You know," I said conversationally as we walked towards the full sized track that I could just see forming in the distance. "You've never had this much interest in me liking a horse before."

"What are you talking about? I've always wanted you to like the horses," dad said with a hint of a smile evident on his face.

"Yeah," I agreed, "But never this much. I'm watching Prince's workouts everyday."

"Hmmm," dad said next to me.

"Any particular reason?" I inquired casually.

Dad glanced at me. "You're almost 18, Ty," he stated. I would turn 18 on May fifth, only about six months from now. My birthday was always hectic because it fell on the day the Kentucky Derby was run, the first leg of the prestigious Triple Crown races. "In the not too distant future," dad began, "You will be taking over Baldwin Ways, I'm just preparing you."

"Okay, yeah. I understand all of that; dad, but I've known how to run the place since I was ten," I reasoned, feeling like there was some hidden agenda my dad wasn't sharing with me yet.

"Baldwin Prince is a great animal, one of the finer since The Baldwin Way," dad spoke fondly of the horse that had first earned him his fortune; spread his name through the horse world and the earned the name of the stables. "An important horse, for more reasons then the obvious," was all dad said. I frowned, what was he talking about?

"You mean as a racehorse?" I clarified.

"In more ways then the obvious, Ty," dad cryptically said again. "Oh good, we're just in time," we were just walking down a short pathway that led to the track.

Zach, dad's best friend and head trainer ever since The Baldwin Way was leaning against the white fencing that stretched around the whole track.

"Hey, Uncle Zach," I greeted the trainer as I stopped by his side. Dad stood on his other side. Zach wasn't really my uncle but he was like a part of our family and I'd called him uncle for as long as I could remember.

"Hey, Ty," he responded friendly.

"So, what's The Prince doing today, Zach?" dad asked.

Zach grinned widely, the same excitement reflected on his face as dads. "We're going to try The Prince with some other horses," Zach said, gesturing slightly down the track to the shinning, new starting gate. Already, there were six horses, the jockeys perched high in the saddles waiting to be led into the gate. "We'll just take them once around the track, I just want The Prince to get a feel of running in a pack of other Thoroughbreds."

"Brilliant, Zach," dad slapped his best friend on the arm. "How do you think The Prince is going to run?"

Zach's brows furrowed together in concentration. "He should come out of the race fine and I'd like to think that he'll run strong the whole time. He's got a great stride on him and the track is particularly fast today so he should knock out a decent time. We've run him with one or two other horses but never with a whole pack. We'll get a feel for how he likes to run, does he start in the back or does he like it up front? Knowing The Prince, I think he'll be a front runner."

Dad nodded his head in agreement. He looked down the track back to the starting gate where Prince was prancing around eagerly. His haunches quivered in excitement and his head was carried high. I could tell that he loved running with just one glance.

"Watch him now, Ty," Zach told me.

I looked back to The Prince. The jockey pointed Prince towards the third slot on the starting gate. Despite his previous high-spirited antics, Prince's concentration focused as he walked calmly into the small space. He didn't even move a muscle as the gate attendant shut the doors at his rump. The jockey stroked The Prince's sleek, muscular black neck and his lips moved in soothing words to the young colt. Prince's ears flicked backwards at the sound of his riders voice.

"You like that?" Zach nudged my arm.

"He's great," was all I could think of to say in reply. I didn't know if I'd ever understand why my dad and even Zach were taking such painstaking steps to ensure that I like Baldwin Prince. Of course I liked him! I'd liked him ever since he was a little newborn foal.

Now he was almost two years old. He stood over 17 hands high. He was perfectly fit, his shoulders and neck were strong and the power behind his haunches was unfathomable. He was long and lean. His head was large and finely chiseled with two deep set, dark brown eyes and two perceptive ears. His black coat was jet black and it shone in the sunshine. His deep black mane and tail flowed. On his forehead there was a single white strip, almost like a crown. Baldwin Prince really was a fine animal.

I turned back to Zach.

Zach raised his arm into the air and then let it drop back down to his side. He took his stopwatch firmly in hand.

The starting bell rang out clear across the track and the gates flew wide opened in unison. Six powerful Thoroughbreds surged onto the track. Prince got a good start and flew forwards with a mighty push from his haunches. He soared forwards, momentarily airborne. When his hooves hit the sand once again he surged forwards.

"Isn't he going too fast for the beginning?" I asked Zach in confusion as I watched Prince shoot to the front of the pack like a black bullet.

"Just watch," Zach replied simply.

I turned my attention back to Prince. He was running abreast with a bright chestnut. The lead volley back and forth between the two horses.

Then I noticed something that practically had my eyes bugging out of my head. The jockey was clearly fighting with Prince to hold him back and Prince was none to happy about it. He was fighting for head the whole while but still managed to take the lead by a half length.

The pack of horses surged around the first turn and were then thundering down the straightaway.

"Let him out _NOW_!" Zach yelled as the horses swept around the last turn. Even though I knew the jockey had no way of hearing Zach it was almost as if he had. As soon as the command had left Zach's mouth, the jockey gave the reins and Prince eagerly stretched his long neck out.

Prince gave a little triumphant buck before he shot in front of the other horses, the chestnut included. Every impossibly long stride Prince took carried him further and further away from all the other horses.

The black tail streamed behind him like a banner. The jockey moved deftly with The Prince's movements. Every sinew in Prince's body stretched and muscles bunched together. He was already fourteen lengths in front on the rest of the field and yet he still seemed determined to win at a higher margin.

As Prince soared in front of us, at least twenty lengths ahead, Zach pushed a button on the stopwatch and the jockey stood in his short stirrups and eased Prince back down to a canter. Prince seemed almost reluctant but in the end he obliged to his jockeys commands.

A full five seconds later, the rest of the horses swept across the finish.

"Incredible," dad breathed as he stared after The Prince's black rump. "What was his time?" he turned to Zach.

When Zach didn't immediately respond I turned to look at him too. Zach was starring at the screen on the stopwatch in shock and amazement. Zach took a deep breath before he spoke and when he spoke he spoke slowly and deliberately. "Baldwin Prince, just ran the mile in," here Zach paused and looked back at his stopwatch, "38 seconds (a/n: I'm just guessing here, I don't really know what a good time would be) flat."

My mouth fell open. My dad looked just as stunned as I felt. Zach looked the same.

Finally, dad turned to me and a huge smile broke out across his face. "What did you think about that run, Ty?" he surprised me by asking.

Dads excitement was infectious and I found myself grinning insanely too. "I think," I began carefully and loudly to make sure that everyone near could hear me. "I think that we have our next Triple Crown winner."

**Commander In Chief**

Dinner was a joyous affair that night. Zach, his wife Marie and their twin daughters Marissa and Gabriella who were 12 and his 16 year old son, Jeff had been invited to join us. Zach and dad retold the story of The Prince's lengthy win over and over again. Mom was beaming in happiness and pride. It was almost as though Prince had just won the Kentucky Derby, not a small race at Baldwin Ways.

"The Prince is going to regain our Triple Crown fame," dad announced confidently as dessert was served. We'd lost the Triple Crown last year and the year before. The horses had been great, but we just hadn't made the cut. Each only lost one of the Triple Crown races but one was enough to whisk the glory away from Baldwin Ways. "The Prince will restore the Baldwin name!" dad said enthusiastically. "And none of it would possible without my fabulous trainer and my best friend, Zach Anderson." Dad raised his wine glass to Zach. "To Zach!" he declared and the others echoed him.

"To Zach!" I returned jubilantly and took a small sip from my glass.

Zach blushed slightly but laughed it off. He nodded his head in acceptance.

"I'd like to make another toast," dad declared and everyone silenced to see what he would say. "To Ty," he surprised me by saying.

"Wha…" I started to object.

Dad looked over at me and I stopped. "To Ty," he repeated and everyone waited in an intrigued silence to see what he was going to say. "To Ty. You'll be 18 in no time at all and then graduating high school. And then in four short years it will be you running this farm, and I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that you will take Baldwin Ways to new and great places. You will carry on the legacy of the Baldwin name. I wish you luck in times to come," dad concluded and I noticed mom and Zach nod in agreement. "To Ty," he raised his wine glass to me and the red liquid sloshed around lightly inside of the glass.

"To Ty," seven voices chorused back to me in perfect unison.

After dinner, I retired to my library and left the adults to talk.

I collapsed onto the plush, soft leather couch and picked up the remote to the almost wall covering Plasma TV in front of me. I flipped it on and a second later the black screen dissolved into colors and an infomercial on an acne cream blared through the room. I quickly changed the channel. I surfed through the channels until I found a channel I liked. I settled on watching 24, one of the few shoes on the air that I liked. The show Commander In Chief was… entertaining. I mainly watched that show because of the name, it was interesting. But 24 was a good show, the show was just starting and they showed clips from earlier shows in the season. I'm glad I got here in time. Last weeks episode ended with the President being told that he had to blow up the plane. (a/n: I love 24! And on Monday I had a band concert at school and my step-dad and I had to like drag my mom to the car so we could get home in time to watch. We got there on time and got to see what happened to the plane! EH!)

The hour whirled by in an exciting whirlwind of event. Sometimes it's hard to believe that every episode of 24 takes place in the span of one hour and every season is one day.

I resorted back to flipping channels when the show was over.

A little while later I was still flipping channels when the door opened and Marissa and Gabriella entered.

"Hey, Ty!" Gabi chirped. "Are you busy?"

"Hey Mari, hey Gabi," I turned of the TV and they sat on the couch with me. "What's up?" I asked in interest.

"Nothin' really," Mari replied. "We just got bored."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. No one ever got bored in my house.

"Lee's showing Jeff his new drum set and mom and dad are talking with Brad and Liz," Mari clarified.

"Right," Gabi agreed with her sister, "And we thought that you might be more entertaining."

"What do you want to do?" I asked the twins.

Gabi and Mari exchanged a mischievous glance. "Let's go play…" Gabi trailed off and pretended to think about it. "… Sea monster attack!" she yelped giddily. Sea monster attack was a game I used to play with them all the time when they were younger. We'd play it in the pool and Mari and Gabi would each get an inflatable horse pool toy and I'd have to try and flip them over.

"Sea monster attack?" I asked incredulously. "When's the last time we played that?"

"A long time ago," Mari giggled. "Come one, Ty! Let's go play!" she made her gray eyes open wide and blinked rapidly for a few seconds before she burst out laughing and lent against Gabi's shoulder for support.

I eyed the two giggling girls and laughed. "Alright fine," I resigned and threw my hands in the air. "Let's go."

I got off of the couch and led them down hallways.

As we passed the living room, den, family area… whatever you want to call it, voices wafted out towards us.

We walked passed our parents and down some more hallways until we made it to a door on the side of the house. I opened the door and we walked into the huge field house. Mari and Gabi skipped off towards the locker room to change into bathing suits and I went into another changing room. I pulled on a pair of black board shorts that had a dark blue stripe down the sides. Despite the cold fall weather outside, the whole field house was heated and unlike public pools or locker rooms, the floors and the whole place for that matter, were immaculate and clean. Forgoing a towel I walked barefoot through another set of doors and into the indoor pool area.

The indoor pool was just as big as the outdoor one and there was a large hot tub off to the side.

Mari and Gabi were just dragging two big, inflatable horses towards the pool. They dropped them into the water and after tilting slightly, the inflatable horses stopped and stayed upright. Mari and Gabi each hopped on their respective horse and pushed away from the side of the pool.

"Ha-ha, Ty!" Mari called over to me. They were already in the middle of the pool and I was watching from the edge.

"Come and get us!" Gabi called to me in a challenging voice.

I swiftly dove into the pool. The warm water engulfed my body as I dove to the bottom of the pool. The deepest end was twelve feet, I think. I glided underwater towards where two dark shapes bobbed on the surface. I broke to the surface a few feet away from them to take a breath. I quickly swept the hair out of my eyes.

Then, with a mischievous grin and a wink at Gabi and Mari, I disappeared under the water again. I swam under Mari's horse and placed both my hands on the bottom of the inflatable horse. Then, with a push I lift the whole thing from the water and flung Mari and the horse a few feet away. Mari screeched and landed with a splash.

When she resurfaced she treaded water and burst out laughing.

I turned towards Gabi. I swam in her direction.

Gabi screeched in laughter and tried in vain to get farther away from me. I grabbed her leg and she squealed as I pulled down and into my chest. She flipped of the horse raft. I picked Gabi up and tossed her over to where Mari was still laughing. The two sisters huddled together and started talking quietly, only being interrupted from time to time by short bursts of hysterical laughter.

I pulled myself up onto the nearest inflatable horse. The rafts were big and could support a large amount of weight, so I didn't cause the whole thing to sink. I dangled my feet in the water and the horse drifted into deeper water.

"Ready?" I heard Mari's voice behind me. "One… two… THREE!" she screeched and suddenly two set of arms attached themselves around my shoulders. We all splashed backwards into the pool.

When I resurfaced I pulled Mari and Gabi up too. "I'm going to get you!" I said threateningly. Both girls squealed and took off in the opposite direction. I swam after them.

**Commander In Chief**

I had just gotten out of the shower and after I put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, I sat on the couch that was set along the wide window in my room and toweled off my still dripping hair.

I looked out over the vast expanse of land that my father owned and that I would own too someday. Someday not to far from now.

Somewhere along the line my thoughts drifted back to Amy. Once again I wished I hadn't said anything that day when I broke up with her. I hadn't even realized what I was doing at the time but it wasn't as though I could act like it didn't happen. I tried that at first, though, it didn't work very well. I'd tried to talk to Amy but she didn't want to or just wouldn't listen to me. I should have called her back, it was stupid to not have and I'll always wonder why I didn't.

But I knew that I cared about her… hell I loved her too much to just accept that everything was over.

I dropped the towel to the floor and a brilliant idea came to me. I picked up the phone that was lying on my desk and deftly punched in Amy's home phone number.

It ringed four times before Alex answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, Alex. It's Ty," I said just incase he didn't know that it was me already.

"Oh hi, Ty," Alex said. I heard a screech in the background and almost laughed. Almost.

"Is Amy there?" I asked.

"Uh yeah, hold on," Alex said. "Let me go get her." I waited a minute and then Alex returned. "Sorry, Ty, but she's busy right now."

I sighed; I knew she wouldn't want to talk to me. "Okay, fine. But can I ask you something Alex?" I stuck with my original plan even though I wasn't talking to Amy.

"Sure," Alex agreed and I could almost see him shrugging his shoulders.

"You know that show that's in a couple weeks?"

"Yeah," Alex said instantly. "What about he?" he asked in interest.

"Well, I was wondering… is Amy going to be there?"

**a/n:** weird chapter, I know but I didn't know what else to write. Hope you liked it anyway and maybe you can see where I'm going with whole Ty/Amy thing now? TP is next up for an update, maybe Saturday. Review! -Steph


	20. Splash!

**Authors Note**

I know the last chapter was stupid but THERE WAS ACTUALLY A POINT TO IT. I foreshadowed a bit for Baldwin Prince (sequel) and since everyone has been begging me to get Amy and Ty back together I started in that direction. But, I got half the amount of reviews I normally get. There is only one chapter left after this one and I want lots of reviews!

And, I believe I said this in the last chapter but I'll say it again anyway, I completely guessed on Baldwin Prince's time and I realize that it is way off. Make up your own, knock yourselves out.

Thanks to Shawna and Annette. Shawna for giving me a perfect idea on what to do about Daniel, and Annette for giving me the idea of how it should lead to Shawna's idea. And another thanks to Annette for telling me the most perfect Amy/Ty song which will appear in this chapter or the next one. I think this one. I had to buy it on iTunes just for this chapter and it completely messed up my iTunes play list. Now I have one song by a female artist, something I was determined to never EVER do. I fixed it by buying two other songs that I liked though and I'll have to buy like three new CDs over the weekend now. -Steph

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke. The song belongs to whoever it belongs to but that's not me.

**Commander In Chief**

**Chapter 19**

Amy's POV

_The day before the show_

"Ugh," I groaned as another math problem danced wickedly before my eyes. I looked at the clock that sat on my desk, 11:34 pm. I sighed and slammed the text book shut, locking my worksheet in. I shoved the book to the side of my desk and rested my head in my arms. I was about to fall asleep right then and there when my door burst open.

"Hey, Ames," Alex announced himself.

"Hey, Alex. What's up?" I asked as I lifted my head. I yawned widely on the last word.

"I just went out and got the mail, I forgot to do it earlier," he said with a shrug.

"Okay…" I wasn't quite sure why Alex had found it necessary to tell me all of this.

"Oh, right," Alex shook his head. "This came for you," he held out a single, thin white envelope. My name and address was scrawled across the front in near chicken scratch.

"Thanks," I took the envelope from his outstretched hand. I dropped it carelessly on the top of my desk.

"Yup, well, I'm going to go do… something."

I looked at him questionably. "Okay, you… do that."

Alex grinned widely. "What time are you leaving tomorrow, you know, for the show?" he asked me.

"8:30 maybe," I said with a shrug.

"Okay, well if you don't need me to come I'll stay here and work Arty a little." Arty, or Artemis as was his full name, was Alex's horse. He had recently been lame so Alex was skipping out on the end of the show season this year.

"Cool, I'll be back by three, I hope."

"Kay, night, Ames," Alex said as he turned to leave my room.

"Night, Alex," I called after him. Alex waved quickly before he shut the door behind him. Once I was alone again I looked back to the letter that was sitting on my desk.

I picked it up and looked at both front and back carefully, checking for a return address. There wasn't one. Weird.

I shrugged lightly and decided to just open it. I tried to open it without tearing up the envelope or anything but that hardly worked. I can never seem to open an envelope up neatly.

Inside there was a single piece of white, printer paper. The paper was folded and none too neatly at that. It was folded into the tradition style of three thirds but the thirds weren't even and the ends didn't meet. I unfolded the paper and read.

**If you know what's good for you and that stupid horse of yours, stay away from the show grounds tomorrow. If you value the life of your horse and that of your stupid boyfriends as well, you will scratch or not show up. I'm not set high on hurting you and your horse, what will I get from _that_? Nothing. You're just a nobody. But, on the other hand, your boyfriend is a whole other issue. Now, what would people say if you, Amy Fleming, were found guilty of the death of a fucking Baldwin horse? Because you can believe me, that's exactly what it'll look like. You're a nice girl, a very pretty girl too, and I know you would not want to see any harm some to that horse, Commander In Chief. I'm fucking tired of the free rein the Baldwin's have had over everything, why do you think your boyfriend rose so quickly? Not because he has talent, hell no. It's because he has a pretty face, a pretty horse and a powerful name. Maybe he is good, but all that has come from outrageously priced trainers that his mommy and daddy hired for him. You ruined my plans last time; you did not take the warning. Now, I could care less about you, you're no problem to beat. But, I can guarantee that if the boyfriend of yours shows up here tomorrow with that horse then he'll have worse to pay for it then a sprained arm. But, by all means show up. I'll get the blue ribbon and I'll get to have some fun. **

**You should know I always come prepared. You have been warned.**

After I was done reading the letter I just starred at it. Then, thinking that I had imagined its contents I read it again, slower this time. But it still said the same thing.

There was no signature but I knew who had sent it. Daniel.

Now he was not only threatening Sundance and Commander In Chief, but Ty and I as well.

No matter how mad I was at Ty I could still admit that everything he had said about Ty was a lie. Well, maybe it was true that he had world class trainers helping him along the way but even a blind man could tell that he had real talent.

And threatening to kill Chief? And then frame me? How could anyone _do_ that?

To my horror, I felt tears start to slide down my cheeks. My cheeks flushed despite the fact that I was completely and utterly alone.

I crumpled up the letter in my hands and threw it as hard as I could across my room. It was only paper and didn't go very far. It fluttered uselessly down to the carpeted floor.

But now the question was what was I going to do?

Was Daniel actually serious about saying he would kill Chief?

My mind turned towards yes. Yes, he was serious and he was going to kill Chief. All because of a stupid show that would hardly even matter in a year from now!

I laughed bitterly through my tears.

**Commander In Chief**

When I woke up the next morning the sun was streaming through my windows. I lifted my head out of my arms groggily and looked around. I was still in my clothes from school that I had worn yesterday and I was sitting at my desk… no wonder my neck was stiff.

I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. I looked around my room and my eyes fell on the still crumpled piece of paper lying in the middle of my room, forgotten. I leapt out of my chair so fast that it fell over in my wake.

Right before I fell asleep I was… going to call Ty. Shit. _Shit_. I'd have to call him before…

I looked at the clock and let out a little yelp of shock. It was already 7:30! Ty would already be there. I had to be at the show grounds in one hour! And I still had to get the trailer ready, braid Sunny, groom him, and make sure all of his tack was good and… take a shower, eat breakfast, get myself ready.

Bypassing the fact that I'm sure my hair looked like a rats nest, I ran down the stairs and out of the house at a breakneck speed. I skidded into the barn and down the aisle to Sunny's stall.

"Oh my God, I'm so, so, so, so screwed," I mumbled as I fumbled for the latch.

"Hello, Miss Amy," I yelped in surprise and jumped backwards at the playful sounding voice.

I peered into the stall to see Ben just straightening up. "Oh, hi, Ben," I grinned sheepishly despite myself.

"Running a little late?" he asked me, amusement present in his voice.

"Oh my God! Yes!" I cried in exasperation. "I still have to braid Sunny and groom him and get all his stuff and the trailer ready and take a shower and…" I started rattling off all of the things I had to do. I stopped midrant because Ben was laughing at me. I glared at him; I found nothing even remotely amusing about the issue on hand. "What's so funny?"

Ben just kept laughing but pointed at Sunny when my eyes narrowed.

I looked over Sunny, who was munching on his hay contently in the corner. He already wore his traveling blanket and his legs were wrapped and… his main and tail were fully braided!

"Thank you so _so_ much, Ben!" I squealed and threw my arms around his wide shoulders.

Ben patted my back somewhat awkwardly. "It was no problem," he assured me with a grin once I let him go. "The trailers taken care of and Sunny's about ready to go. You should go and get yourself ready," he eyed me up and down and I suddenly felt self-conscious of my wrinkly shirt and horrible hair. I probably had morning breath too. Yuck.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" I yelled as I fled the barn. I was breathing heavily by the time I reached my house again. That was quite a ways to run and I'd done it twice. Another glance at my watch told me I only had forty-five minutes left.

I ran into the shower and once the water was hot I stepped under it. I let the warm water run over my body soothingly, momentarily calming all of my nerves and relaxing my muscles. Once that was done I jumped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy blue towel around my body and wound another around my dripping hair. I brushed my teeth, put on deodorant and did all my other bathroom stuff before dashing back into my room. I pulled on my tan Ariat low-rise show breeches and a white t-shirt; I dug around my drawers and found another Heartland sweatshirt.

I brushed my still damp hair and eyed the hairdryer. But another glance at my clock had my just pulling it back into a ponytail.

I grabbed the garment bag that held my show shirt and blazer, the boot bag and the helmet bag the contained my good, showing helmet. My arms laden with equipment, I bounded back down the stairs. I only stopped to pull on my muck boots and to grab my trusty messenger bag that held everything I would need, magazines, cell phone, money, iPod, keys, the works. After I had dumped all of my stuff in the cab of the pickup truck that was waiting by the barn with a two horse trailer hooked to the back, I ran back into the barn.

Ben was just leading Sunny down the aisle. "Hey!" I gasped as I stopped in front of him.

Ben shook his head at my appearance; I didn't look bad physically anymore… well maybe that's not completely true. My face was probably a little red from running around like a possessed woman but other then that…

"I didn't know what saddle or anything you wanted to use," Ben informed me.

"I'll get them," I said to his retreating back and Sunny's rump.

I ran into the tack room and grabbed the saddle bag, bridle bag, girth bag, and saddle pad bag that all help Sunny's show tack. I dashed back to the truck and saw that Ben was just securing Sunny in the inside. I stashed all of the tack in the little tack room in the trailer and then helped Ben close the ramp.

"Thank you so much for all the help, Ben," I thanked him yet again. But really, without Ben here I would have been running around like a chicken with its head cut, as opposed to a possessed woman.

"No problem, I'm happy to help," Ben tried to shrug off my apology. "You should be going though," he told me, trying to change the topic.

I looked at my watch, 8:35. "You're a lifesaver, Ben. I owe you," I told him as I climbed into the cab. I felt around under the seat and pulled out the key. I stuck it into the ignition and started the car.

Ben waved as I drove away.

Half an hour later I was pulling into the show grounds. I parked among all the other trailers and quickly went to sign in. When I got back to my trailer I took Sunny out and tied him to the outside of the trailer.

For the first time since I'd woken up the morning I stopped for a few minutes. I looked around the show grounds. I saw a big, bay horse with a dark green blanket that said… oh crap.

My original plan of action had been completely forgotten during my busy last hour and a half.

I gave Sunny a final pat and then started in Ty's direction. I opened my mouth to call out his name but my greeting died on my lips and morphed into a scream that was cut short as a hand clapped over my mouth from behind. My original fright had been the arm that snaked around my waist from behind.

I was pulled backwards. The person didn't stop until we were on the opposite side of my trailer, Sunny was on the other side. I had parked next to the fence so all that was near us was fence and open fields.

My captor let go of my waist momentarily and threw me back against the trailer. I gasped in pain as my head snapped back into the hard, steel side of the trailer.

"Don't say a word," a venomous voice hissed at me.

I looked up and saw Daniel standing in front of me. He was wearing his show outfit and his dark hair was ruffled and messy. His blazer has patched at the elbows and his tan breeches had clearly seen better days. He stood at least a head taller then me, Ty's height. Ty was muscular and fit and all but this guy was… he was more defined. Up close he was scary and I starred at him with an open mouth.

"I warned you to stay away," he spat at me. "I know you got my note," he added.

"I…" I started to say but stopped with a gasp as his open palm cracked across my face. Tears automatically rose to my eyes but I refused to show him the satisfaction of crying.

"It was all you," I said in a low voice. "You poisoned Sunny and Chief…" I accused him.

"Nice work, Detective Fleming," he cackled.

"Why do you…"

"Shut up!" he told me firmly. He didn't yell, that would risk attracting attention and just because no one could see us that didn't mean they couldn't hear us.

"TY!" I yelled as loud as I possibly could. I doubt he even heard me since my call was cut short as Daniel's hand snapped over my mouth once again. I yelled against his hand but it was muffled and he just pressed down harder.

"I said shut UP!"

I glared up at him defiantly.

"You didn't do as I asked," he hissed. "You were supposed to keep _Ty,_" he said Ty's name like it was some kind of curse or something, "Away from here. You'll pay for it now."

He took his hand off of my mouth. "Please, no. Don't hurt Chief," I begged him.

"The situation was in your hands and you chose to do nothing about."

"I… please…"

"How do you think _Ty_ will feel when he finds out that you killed his prized horse? You know, I did some research and do you want to know how much Commander In Chief is worth? Over three million dollars." Daniel smirked at my expression and continued. "Do you have three million dollars to pay for his horse? And you can know right off the bat that the punishment will be so much worse because you killed a _Baldwin_ horse, as opposed to say, my Amber. She's every bit as good as Commander In Chief but is she worth three million dollars? NO! And do you know why? Because she doesn't look right, she's not a sports horse and I don't have a powerful name. Lawson, no one's heard of my family."

"Look," I tried to say calmly. "Just because Ty has a good horse…" I froze, I had worded that wrong.

"Try again," Daniel hissed at me, his dark eyes blazing.

"Can't you just admit that Ty is maybe a little tiny bit better then you?" this was not what Daniel wanted to hear either so I continued in a rush before he could stop me. "You can't kill every horse that is better then yours."

"I'm not going to kill any horse," Daniel said with a smirk. "You are."

"No, I…"

"Now, to frame you…" he mussed to himself.

"You're sick!" I burst out suddenly.

Daniel glared at me. I took a step forwards only to be pushed roughly back into the side of the trailer. On the other side of the trailer I could tell Sundance was becoming restless from the raised voices and he let out a loud, long, sharp, piercing whinny.

"That stupid horse," Daniel growled. "I should…" he fingered something on the inside of his jacket.

"No! Leave Sunny alone! And Chief! They never did anything to you!" I cried out helplessly.

"They've done more then you know," Daniel's dark eyes burned into me.

"Isn't there anything else you can do? Do whatever you want! Just don't hurt Sunny or Chief… or Ty," I pleaded.

"Hmmm," Daniel revealed in the look on my face. "It's too late to not do anything to the horse but…"

"What did you do to Chief?" I asked in horror.

Daniel went on as though he hadn't heard me. "… I suppose I'll leave him alone if… you go out with me and you're mine for one night, and you'll do whatever I want without complaint."

I shuddered at the lust filled look in his eyes. He brushed his hand across my cheek and shuddered again in repulsion. "No…" I choked out.

"Well then," Daniel straightened up.

"What are you going to do?" I asked fearfully.

"Like I'd tell you," Daniel laughed. "You'll find out soon enough. But until then I can't have you running to you your little boyfriend, can I?" I looked at him tentatively and the look of pure pleasure on his face was enough to make me cringe.

Before I knew what was happening I was on the ground and had one arm bent behind my back in a painful position. Daniel's knee pressed into the small of my back and I squirmed in pain. My attempts to get away were done so in vain, Daniel was too strong. I tried to yell out but only succeeded in getting a mouthful of grass. Daniel pushed my face back into the ground.

"Now, you," he addressed me smugly, "Are going to stay here until informed otherwise. If you try anything, anything at all, it will be a piece of cake to make your death look like a suicide, you got it." I was unable to say anything and even if I could have I wouldn't have. "I said, you got it?" Daniel asked again in a firmer voice.

I mumbled my agreement into the grass.

"Good, you'll stay put," he said. "God forbid something happen to your precious _Ty_," he laughed.

Then, thankfully, the weight lifted off of my back and head and I heard his boot clad feet walk away. I took in a deep breath and sat up. I spat out all of the grass in disgust and pulled myself to my feet. I crept along the side of my trailer until I got to the back end. I peered around it James-Bond-style. I saw Daniel's retreating back; he was heading in the opposite direction from Ty's trailer.

Then surprisingly enough I saw Ty step out from behind one of the trailers that was near by mine. I shied back behind my trailer but not fast enough. Ty caught my sight and held my eyes with his green emeralds. My heart practically broke at the pain in his eyes. He held up one finger in my direction, the universal sign for 'one minute', before he dashed off to his trailer. I watched him usher Chief into the trailers confines and then latch up the ramp.

I turned back around and leant back against my trailer, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do now. Ty had obviously heard my whole exchange with Daniel. I was tempted to follow his lead and put Sunny back in the trailer but Daniel… if he saw Sunny away he'd know I'd done something.

"Amy," I spun around in surprise at the low voice that addressed me.

"Ty!" I gasped and, without thinking, I threw my arms around his broad shoulders and held onto him as if he was the lifesaver to my drowning person. Ty's arms wrapped around my waist and he held onto me just as tight. I buried my face into his chest and the comfortable material of the worn Baldwin Ways sweatshirt he wore with a pair of dark jeans before he changed into his show clothes welcomed me, as did his scent. Ty's head was nestled into my neck and my hair.

I didn't know I'd missed him this much but…

"Ty," I managed to croak out, "I'm sor…"

"Shhh," Ty silenced me by placing a finger across my lips. "I know, let's talk later though."

All I could do was nod dumbly in agreement.

"Did you hear all of that?" I asked him after a moment of silence had passed between us.

"Yes," Ty answered simply.

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. I'd known he had heard it all but it was still embarrassing.

"Stay here," Ty told me. "I'll go find Daniel."

"What? No way! I'm not staying here and letting you take care of him all by yourself!" I burst out indignantly.

Ty look frustrated. "Just stay here and in five minutes call the cops, tell then about Daniel," he insisted.

I glared at Ty for several seconds before I loosened up my facial muscles. I sighed and said, "Fine."

"Good," Ty said, seemingly pleased.

"Just… watch out for him," I warned Ty softly. "He's… I don't know, dangerous," I finally concluded.

"I'll be fine," Ty assured me and then he was dashing off towards the water trough, where Daniel was standing with his back turned to us. He appeared to be talking on his cell phone.

I sighed again and leant back against the trailer. Then I realized how stupid I was being at that moment. I looked around the trailer, Ty was approaching Daniel steadily and Daniel still had his back turned. I took the chance and quickly unbolted the ramp to the trailer and eased it down to the ground. I staggered slightly under the immense weight if it but I managed.

I ran around to Sunny's head and quickly untied him. Sunny butted me with his head and his ears pricked forwards. I led him to the back of the trailer and he stopped. He didn't understand why he was going back into the trailer when he hadn't even done anything yet!

"Please, Sunny," I pleaded softly into his ear. "Just for a little while, you'll still get to jump later, boy. Please," Sunny shook his head around but stepped up into the trailer regardless. I hurriedly clipped him to one of the rungs in the first stall and gave him a quick pat before stepping out of the trailer. I somehow managed to lift the ramp into place and bolt it shut again.

I looked hurriedly back in the direction of the water trough and my heart sank. I watched Daniel aim a punch at Ty's head. Ty dodged it easily and sunk his fist into Daniel's stomach, knocking the breath out of him and he stumbled backwards.

I hurried over to the truck and extracted my cell phone from my bag. I fumbled with it but managed to punch in the three digits that everyone in America knows: 911

The shifted my weight from foot to foot impatiently as the phone rang three times. Before a woman answered and started to rattle off her usual, polite greeting. I cut her off. "I'm at the Jefferson County Show Grounds (a/n: made that one up) and there's this guy, Daniel Lawson. He threatened me and my… boyfriend and our horses. He's already said he was going to kill one!" I told her hastily.

"Oh dear…" the women muttered. "Can I have your name?"

"Amy Fleming," I answered automatically.

"And your boyfriends?"

"Ty Baldwin."

"Well, Amy, what is happening right now?" she asked me.

I looked back over to Ty and Daniel.

"Well, uh, Daniel already threatened me and Ty heard all of it so now they're kind of, uh, fighting," I didn't see any other way to describe it. Besides, I'm pretty sure that punching each other and trying to kill each other constitutes as fighting.

"Okay. Amy, don't worry about it, I'm calling for officers as we speak, they should be with you in no more then ten minutes. They'll take Daniel and question him. Now, is there anything else you can tell me about the situation?"

"Uh, well, Daniel already poisoned both my horse and Ty's at previous shows. We were both injured as a result," I quickly told her. I winced as Daniel got one punch on Ty. I internally cheered as Ty got him in the side of the head. They were starting to gather a crowd by now.

"Do you have any proof that it was he who poisoned your horses?" the woman asked me.

"Yeah. He admitted it to me and he sent me a note last night threatening to kill Ty's horse if we came today," I rushed.

"Thank you, Amy," the woman said. "Officers will be there shortly, everything will be fine," she assured me.

"Thank you. Bye." I hung up the phone a sprinted in Ty and Daniel's direction.

"Hey watch it, girlie!" a man grumbled as I bumped into him in my haste.

"Oh! Sorry, sir!" I called apologetically behind me.

Daniel caught sight of me racing towards them. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU STAY WHERE I LEFT YOU!" he roared.

I ignored him and ran to Ty's side. I clutched him arm. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

Ty shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes. "I'm fine. Did you…?"

"Yeah. They're on their way," I reported back to him.

"Good."

"What the hell are you doing?" Daniel asked, outraged.

"The police are coming, maybe you can tell them your nice little story of how you were going to kill Ty's horse and blame it on me!" I taunted him.

Daniel blanched. "Why you little whore…" he breathed and made a movement towards me.

Ty's arm shot out of nowhere and connected with Daniel's nose sharply. There was a snapping noise and I winced, we all know what that was. Blood spurted out of his nose and down his face and dripped on his white shirt. He fell over onto his back and clutched his face.

"Would you like to say that again?" Ty asked Daniel in an icy voice. Daniel glared up at Ty. Ty's hand was still balled into a fist.

"Bastard," Daniel told Ty quite clearly.

"I'm a bastard?" Ty asked sounding baffled. "Well if I'm a bastard then I don't even want to think about what that makes you."

Daniel was speechless; all he could do was glare at Ty. Score for Ty! GO TY!

"I believe," Ty began again in that annoyingly calm voice of his, "That you just insulted my girlfriend. You owe her an apology." I grinned stupidly despite the situation. Ty had called me his girlfriend! That had to mean something, right?

"Bite me," Daniel spat.

"Wrong answer," Ty kicked in the ribs. Daniel yelped.

"Suck my dick you mother…" Daniel began. (a/n: sorry but I HAD to put that in)

My eyes widened. I looked at Ty to see how would take that insult. But, all Ty did was rock back onto his heels. "Are we going to insult each others mothers now?" I laughed at Ty's laid back comment. "Would like some 'your mama' jokes? (a/n: that's for you Gracie because you said something about 'your mama' jokes in one of your reviews!) I've got one for you. Yo mama so fat she got baptized at Sea World."

It was amazing the control Ty had. It was quite entertaining too. I had to make a serious effort not to let my giggles become full fledged laughs.

"Or maybe that wasn't good enough," Ty said calmly to a fuming mad Daniel. "How about this one, yo mama so ugly she makes Michael Jackson look like Brad Pitt."

Daniel heaved himself to his feet and let his hands ball to fists at his sides. I guess he didn't take well to loosing.

"Give it up, Daniel," Ty growled in a low voice. "You're done. The police are coming."

"I'm not done until I say I'm done," Daniel growled back.

"What are you tal…" I froze. Daniel reached a hand into the pocket of his navy blue show blazer and withdrew a small, silver object that glinted in the bright sunlight. My eyes widened as he pointed the gun at us. Ty was resorted to speechlessness as well.

"Ha," Daniel said triumphantly. "Shall I shoot your girlfriend?" he turned the gun so that it was pointing at me. I gulped.

Ty grabbed me and shoved me behind him. I clutched the back of his sweatshirt.

"Think you're brave?" Daniel asked loudly. People were starring wide eyed in horror. "I'd be all too happy to kill you right now, _Baldwin_. I hate Baldwin's; you're all spoiled rich brats. One less on this planet would be a good thing!" Daniel roared. "What good does the lot of you do? Show that you can run horses around a track!"

"TY!" a high voice screamed. I peered behind me, my heart thudded. Ty's mom, Liz. A hand flew to her mouth as she saw what was happening. Her clear blue eyes filled with tears. I felt Ty tense; he knew it was her too. "Don't hurt my son!" she yelled. "You hear? You don't know who you're dealing with!"

All Daniel did was laugh. He threw back his head and laughed insanely.

"You say I'm not brave but what about you?" Ty asked in a voice that was, in my opinion, way too calm for the situation. Daniel faltered at the calmness in Ty's voice, he wasn't expecting it either. "I protect someone I love and you stand there holding a gun to my head. If you were brave, if you were serious about killing me, you would have shot me twenty times by now. Who's the brave one? Really?"

"Shut up!" Daniel barked. The hand holding the little, silver gun shook a little.

The sound of sirens was just hearable in the distance. They still had a ways to reach us.

"Looks like they're too late to help you. So sad," Daniel said in a mock regretful voice. "Say good bye to your girlfriend and mommy," Daniel laughed and raised the gun a little higher.

I wanted to move, to help Ty, but I couldn't do anything. I was frozen, I couldn't move. I was clutching Ty's back and had my head buried in his back. I could not break the position for the life of me.

I waited for a gun shot that I knew was going to come no matter what I did or how much I prayed it wouldn't.

What I did hear, however, was the sound of wood hitting a skull, a grunt and a thud.

"It's okay," Ty breathed. His voice reverberated through his back and it comforted me.

I took lifted my head and unclenched Ty's sweatshirt. I stepped to his side.

Sure enough, everything was okay. Just like Ty had said.

Daniel was lying on the ground moaning, a small trickle of blood running down the side of his face. And standing over him was none other then Lee, Ty's brother, holding a block of wood. It looked like the link to a fence.

"Ty!" Lee called over to him, a mischievous grin on his face. Ty went over to his brother; I bent down and retrieved the little gun that was lying in the long grass.

Ty and Lee had a short, hushed conversation and then picked up Daniel between the two of them and hefted him over to the water trough. The swung him back and forth a few times before they let him fall into the water.

Splash!

Water shot up everywhere and splashed onto Lee and Ty. Daniel waved his arms around like a deranged duck and sputtered up water.

Just at that moment, five red, white and blue cop cars with flashing lights and sirens blaring skidded to a halt in front of us.

Daniel was carried away kicking and screaming. I looked at my watch. My class was in half an hour. I disappeared from Ty's side before he could say anything and got Sunny ready. After all, I did promise him that I would let him jump.

**Commander In Chief**

"And third place in class number 243, High Junior Jumpers, goes to… Pamela Faria and her horse, Golden Star!"

a girl that was about a year younger ten me rode into the ring on a beautiful palomino Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse. The horse had a star, a creamy white mane and tail and a shinning golden coat. His rider, unlike Daniel, grinned widely as her name was announced and the applause came loud.

"Second place goes to… Amy Fleming and her horse, Sundance !" my name rang out across the arena.

I trotted into the ring on Sunny proudly to all of the cheering. First place would have been nice but considering all I've been through in the past month or so, second was perfectly fine for me.

"And first place goes to… Ty Baldwin and his horse, Commander In Chief! Our returning champion, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer said loudly as Ty trotted into the ring. I could easily see that this was right for him and Chief… well Chief just thrived in the environment.

The judges had us line up in the middle of the arena and took their photos and handed out ribbons and prize money. Ty took his lap of honor and Chief looked perfect. I couldn't believe that I had actually gotten the chance to work with him, even if it wasn't needed.

Ty came back to the center of the ring and we waited for the judges to say it was okay to leave the arena. Just as we were about to exit, a new song blared from the big speakers. Everytime We Touch, by Cascada. Interesting choice whoever decided to play it but it was fitting, somehow.

I glanced over and saw Ty watching me with a grin.

I smiled back and mouthed the first verse…

_I still hear your voice, when you sleep next to me. _

_I still feel your touch in my dreams. _

_Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why. _

_Without you it's hard to survive. _

Ty laughed and smiled again. We left the ring then and Ty and I headed over to the water trough. We dismounted and let our horses get a much deserved drink. It was silent between for several moments.

_Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling. _

_And every time we kiss I swear I could fly. _

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last. _

_I need you by my side. _

_Cause every time we touch, I feel the static. _

_And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky. _

_Can't you hear my heart beat so. _

_I can't let you go. _

_I want you in my life. _

"Hi, I'm Ty and this is my horse, Chief," Ty surprised me by saying suddenly.

I looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Ty? What are you doing? I know who you are," I said slowly. Was he going crazy or something? God I hope not.

"Amy and Sundance, nice to meet you," he said next. I somewhat caught onto what he was doing and I watched him carefully to see what he was going to do. "I'll call your horse Sunny if you call mine Chief," he insisted.

"Ty, you don't have to…"

"Just moved here from England, you say? How interesting! So your family owns a horse rehabilitation center?"

_Your arms are my castle; your heart is my sky. _

_They wipe away tears that I cry. _

_The good and the bad times, we've been through them all. _

_You make me rise when I fall. _

"Ty, you don't have to do this," I laughed.

"It's just like the day we met, do you remember?" he faced me and his emerald green eyes sparkled joyfully.

"Of course I remember! How could I not?"

"Sunny bumped some water on Chief and you apologized," Ty recalled. "I introduced myself and you introduced yourself. I asked you if you were new here because I hadn't seen you around before and you said yes, you had just moved from England and your family owned a horse rehabilitation center there and decided to expand to the US. Then we competed and you were surprised when the announcer announced my name and you saw me ride into the ring. we met back here and sponged and toweled off Sunny and Chief. And then you started a water fight," Ty laughed. He flicked some water on me.

"Hey!" I laughed loudly and reciprocated his action.

_Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling. _

_And every time we kiss I swear I could fly. _

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last. _

_I need you by my side. _

_Cause every time we touch, I feel the static. _

_And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky. _

_Can't you hear my heart beat so _

_I can't let you go. _

_I want you in my life. _

"So, what was all that about anyway, Ty?" I asked him.

"Well I…" Ty paused. "Can we start over?"

I smiled softly and then looked up to meet his eyes. They held a bit of fear, fear of rejection I realized with a start. When I spoke next, the smile that lighted Ty's face was worth everything. I knew his smile was reflected on my face. "Yes."

_Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling. _

_And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly. _

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast. _

_I want this to last. _

_I need you by my side._

**a/n: **there ya go! It's long! In case you're wondering, Shawna gave the water trough thing and Annette gave me the idea of Daniel threatening Amy and Ty hearing and then beating him up. The rest I came up with. Except for the song, that was thanks to Annette too, but I can't tell you how many times I've listened to it while writing this chapter. I'm going to SCREAM if I hear it one more time! One more chapter left, sad. Hope you liked it and review! -Steph


	21. Epilogue

**Authors Note**

Hey guys! Well, the day is finally here, the last chapter of Commander In Chief, my first ever Heartland story. I just want to thank all of my reviewers and everyone else who has read this story. Thanks for all the suggestions people have given me; I've used quite a few of them. I got some good suggestions for this chapter too but, sadly, I am not able to use them. I already have this chapter planned out and they just don't fit. This is the one chapter that I'm not willing to change.

I want tons of reviews for this chapter since it is the last! REVIEW!

Before I get on with the chapter I have one thing to say:

As a lot of you probably know, today, May 20, 2006, the 131st Preakness Stakes was run. Going into the race, Barbaro was the clear favorite at 3-5 odds; he'd been beating even money all week long. He was fine before the race and just bursting with energy. Barbaro suffered a false start, bursting through the gate that was supposed to have been locked. He was caught fairly quickly and brought back around and reloaded. Barbaro broke cleanly and well the second time around and gained good position. Before the first turn, Edgar Prado, Barbaro's jockey, pulled him up. Barbaro was clearly favoring his right hind leg and missing steps. He was loaded into an Equine Ambulance on the track and taken back to his stables. Vets later said that Barbaro had fractured his ankle in two spots. He was then taken for immediate, and serious, surgery. Barbaro is a great horse and an amazing racer. He won the Kentucky Derby by over six lengths, he had it look easy! There has not been a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978; Barbaro was to be the next. But the harsh reality is that Barbaro will most likely never race again. His first ever lose shall be his defeat. With an injury as severe as the one Barbaro has sustained he may have to be put down.

It takes a whole lot for me to cry and I almost did. This stuff always happens in books and movies and TV shows but now it's happened in real life. I hope Barbaro is okay. His lose would be horrible, he will be a very value stud. But not only that, he's a great horse, gorgeous, sweet, and doesn't deserve what has happened to him. It doesn't seem enough to say, I hope Barbaro is okay, but there it is. I don't know what else to say. I feel horrible for Edgar Prado too, he was crying after the race when they took Barbaro away in the Equine Ambulance. It's not his fault what happened to Barbaro but he is going to be doubting himself and his abilities for a while, especially if Barbaro does not make it. But the fact is, Edgar Prado did the right thing in pulling Barbaro up right away when he knew something was wrong, without is quick, heroic thinking Barbaro would have less of a chance at survival.

Onto Baldwin Prince, the sequel. It will probably be up in September. The story will be more focused on Ty, should it be his POV or not? And of course, Baldwin Prince. It basically takes you through Prince's Triple Crown races and to the Breeder's Cup, with added twists. Feel free to guess on what might happen but I won't tell if you are right or wrong.

Now… on to the last chapter of Commander In Chief…

-Steph

**Disclaimer: **Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke.

**Commander In Chief**

**Epilogue**

_Two months late _

_Baldwin Ways _

"AAAAHHHH!" I squealed loudly and gripped the hands that had locked around my waist. "Ty! Put me _down_!" I laughed as Ty picked me up from behind and spun me around.

I felt more then heard Ty's deep laugh. I smiled widely at the sound. This was just too perfect, too good to be true.

And yet, it was.

After the whole Daniel incident two months earlier Ty and I had been practically inseparable. Ty had fussed over my cuts and bruises, courtesy of one Daniel Lawson, so much. It had started cute but quickly bordered on the brink of annoying. But, he cared for me and that was enough.

On the issue of Daniel, he had confessed all his crimes to the police so we were not called to testify against him in court. As for his punishment… let's just say that he is going to behind bars for a long time. I guess I feel kind of bad for the guy though, he clearly loved his horse, Burning Amber. Amber was taken away from him and sold to another farm.

Ty set me down and my feet were once again firmly on the ground. His arms stayed tight around my waist though, not that I had a problem with that. Quite the opposite actually, it was amazing, really, how safe and secure a pair of arms could make a girl feel.

Ty turned me around so that I was facing him. I looked up into his bright green eyes and smiled softly. A small smile graced Ty's perfect lips before be leant down and kissed me. It was a soft, slow kiss but it made my knees weak anyway.

"Ahem," someone cleared their voice from behind us. Ty and I broke apart quickly and I turned around.

"Hey, dad," Ty said sheepishly. I ducked my head to hide my blush.

"Shouldn't you two be gone already?" Brad questioned. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked at us. "You're certainly not dressed for hanging around the yard," he added as he appraised our wardrobe.

Ty was taking me… somewhere. He would not tell me where exactly. I had opted to wearing a pair of black pants and a gray cashmere sweater. Coupled with it was by black, wool jacket that fell to my knees and my black and gray stripped scarf wrapped around my neck. My hair was done and blowing in the light wind. We were standing outside so my nose was probably red from the cold, winter air.

Ty looked perfect, God like, as usual. He wore a pair of black suit pants with a black button down. Usually I though that monotone colors was tacky but on Ty… wow. It was hot. The shirt showed off his broad shoulders and muscular chest. His brown hair was in its custom messy form and his green eyes added enough light and color to light up a whole room.

"We were going to leave in a few minutes," Ty told his father. Brad's eyes twinkled with a light just as brilliant as his son's and he nodded his head minimally. I got the feeling that Brad knew what was going on. So everyone knows besides me? Perfect.

"Okay, well you should get going soon," Brad said. Ty voiced his agreement.

"Hello, Amy," Brad smiled warmly at me. "It's nice to see you again." Yeah right. He was probably sick of me by now.

I smiled back. "Thanks, Brad," at first it had been weird to call him by his first name but it came naturally by now.

"Did you want something, dad?" Ty asked.

"I was just heading down to watch Baldwin Prince's workout," Brad admitted. Oh, right. The famous Baldwin Prince that I had yet to meet. Funny, after all the time I'd spent around Baldwin Way's I had yet to meet the great horse. I was starting to wonder if maybe the whole family was insane and had just made him up. "Want to watch?"

"Uh…" Ty looked uncertain.

"Come on!" Brad urged. He started to walk down the path to where I knew the track was. He turned half-way, never breaking his strong side, and waved an arm to us, signaling us to catch up.

Ty shrugged. "Let's go," he said. He grabbed my hand and we ran to catch up with Brad.

We neared the track and I saw several beautiful Thoroughbreds being worked. I searched for the one I knew was Baldwin Prince. Big and black and beautiful, that's all I had to go by.

Brad stopped about six yards away from the fence where a man was standing with a clipboard and a stopwatch. Zach, the Baldwin's famous trainer. I'd met him plenty of time before.

Brad turned around to face Ty and me.

"Are you ready to see the next great horse, Amy?" Brad directed the question to me. "You are about to be the first person ever, outside of the Baldwin team, to watch Baldwin Prince work." With that, he turned and walked the short distance to the fence where he stood side by side with his old friend and trainer. They were talking and kept looking down the track.

I followed their gaze and saw a big, darkly colored horse approaching, the jockey positioned comfortably in the small, racing saddle.

"So, can you find His Royal Highness?" Ty asked once we had reached the fence.

I laughed at Ty's affectionate nickname for the horse that for all I knew could have been a myth or merely a figment of the imagination.

"Which one is he?" I asked eagerly.

"You already know," Ty responded as he followed my gaze down the track.

"What?" I asked confused. "You mean that's…" I trailed off as the horse and rider came into sight. I gaped. So that was Baldwin Prince? The Prince? Wow.

He was huge and magnificent. His coat jet black, only marred by a strip of white across the top of his forehead. He was long and lean and his muscles rippled powerfully with every step he took. His big, elegant head was arched and he toyed with the bit. The rider posted quickly in the short stirrups to match the horse's quick trot, he wanted to move, to go faster but he waited for his jockey's signal. The jockey spoke softly to the big animal and his ear flickered back and forth nimbly.

Ty laughed lightly by my side and he caught my expression. "Yes, that's Baldwin Prince," he confirmed. "Dad says that he's the best breeding successes he's ever had."

"You don't say," I breathed as the great horse halted on the track in front of us.

"Eduardo!" Zach called out to the jockey on Baldwin Prince. The jockey, upon hearing his name called out, turned his head to face Zach and Brad. He nodded his greeting to them. "We're going to practice his starts without the gate. I've got a bell with me, when I ring it he should start just like he does with the gates. If he breaks bad or slow then take him a few furlongs and then bring him back here. If he breaks good then let him run. Take him once around and let him out on… the end of the stretch."

"Si," Eduardo agreed simply in a distinctly Spanish accent.

Eduardo nestled himself above Baldwin Prince's withers and crouched low over his neck. Baldwin Prince immediately became focused on the track ahead and his muscles tensed and he was like a spring waiting to explode.

Bring!

The bell rang out loudly and Baldwin Prince immediately gathered his haunches underneath of him and launched forwards. He soared threw the air before his hooves touched the sandy track again. He was off and running in the blink of an eye. His long, black tail floated in his wake like streamers.

At the end of the straightaway, Eduardo let Baldwin Prince have his head and Baldwin Prince stretched his neck out and his already long, ground eating stride all but doubled. He flew around the turn and down the back stretch. Baldwin Prince's hooves pounded into the soft sand and carried him forwards almost effortlessly. He thrust his front legs forwards and his hind legs back and his neck stretched straight out. The muscles in his chest were incredible.

Baldwin Prince seemed to gain speed as he raced towards us.

He flew past us and Eduardo stood up high in the stirrups and eased Baldwin Prince back to a canter. They cantered a ways before Baldwin Prince finally slowed. Eduardo turned him around and they trotted back towards us. Baldwin Prince's amen bounced up and down on his neck and he was hardly even breathing deeply.

"Wow," was all I could say.

"Yeah," Ty agreed. His green eyes held awe and respect for the horse. "That's how I feel as well, even after watching him go everyday."

Handlers rushed over to Baldwin Prince and grabbed his bridle. Eduardo vaulted out of the saddle and nimbly landed on his boot clad feet. He gave the horse a last pat on the next before he walked over to Brad and Zach, his crop tucked under his arm.

Eduardo, Brad and Zach exchanged words and a grinning Zach showed the other two the stopwatch. Brad whooped in excitement and Eduardo was practically bouncing on his heels.

I looked down and with a glance at my outfit I quickly remembered… "So, are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" I asked casually, not drawing much attention to my question in hopes that it would catch Ty off guard and he would tell.

"Nice try," he laughed, looking back down at me. I pouted. "We should go though."

"Oooookay."

Ty walked away from the fence without another word and I trudged after him.

"See you later, dad, Zach, Eduardo!" Ty called over to them.

"Have fun, guys!" Zach called back with a wave.

"Don't do anything stupid," Brad warned as he looked at us critically. I blushed a little. "Have fun!" he added cheerfully.

"Adios, little boss man!" Eduardo called out cheekily.

I covered my mouth with my hand to conceal my laughter.

"Ha-ha, aren't you hilarious?" Ty said sarcastically. Eduardo grinned and saluted Ty with his whip. "See you later!"

I stood there for a moment before realizing that Ty was no longer by my side.

"Are you coming?" his voice called out to me.

I looked around and finally located him standing a little ways down the path. I rolled my eyes at his grin and ran to catch up with him. I slipped my arm threw his as we walked to his Escalade EXT.

"After you, madam," Ty said in a phony and exaggerated British accent as he opened the door for me.

"Why thank you, sir," I returned in an exaggerated form of my voice. I smirked triumphantly at Ty. My accent sounded real. Ha. Take that Ty.

Ty closed my door once I was inside the car and walked around the front of the truck to the drivers' side. He slide into his seat and put his key in the ignition. He backed skillfully out of the driveway and then drove down the long driveway. Once we reached the main rode he turned left.

"So, are you going to tell me where you're taking me yet?" I asked once again in a hopeful manner.

"No," Ty answered simply. Again.

"For all I know you could be kidnapping me," I pouted.

"Would you object if I was kidnapping you?" Ty asked thoughtfully. He turned to face me briefly and his eyes glinted.

I was speechless. "Well, what are we going to do?" I asked once I had recovered myself.

"Stuff."

"Stuff? What kind of stuff?" I asked for clarification.

"You'll see," Ty laughed.

"How do I know you're not going to murder me or something?" I inquired.

Ty burst out laughing. I scowled. "Sorry," he gasped after a few long moments of laughing. "I'm not going to murder you," he said still laughing. Finally! Some clarification! Not that I thought he was going to murder me in the first place… man this is frustrating.

"You're so frustrating," I voiced my opinions aloud to Ty.

"Am I?" Ty asked thoughtfully.

"Yes! You won't tell me where you're taking me!"

"Patience," was all he said.

I sighed and finally gave up. I flipped on the radio and turned it up; at least Ty wasn't one of those guys who was like overbearing of his radio. The song Monsters by Matchbook Romance filled the car. I love this song! It's so catching with the clapping and all in the beginning.

Around half an hour later Ty said, "We're almost here."

I looked around expectantly, expecting to see the city or a town or something. But no. there was nothing. There were a couple old building on the sides of the road that said things like 'Lucy's Yarn Shoppe' and 'Fresh, Cold Beer' but that was it.

"Erm… okay," I said.

"You don't remember?" Ty asked seeming somewhat hurt.

I sighed and looked around again. There were big, grassy fields on wither side of us and in the distance I could just see… whoa. Those fields are the fields that the horseshow had just been at. Wow, aren't I the smart one?

"Oh… Oh!" I exclaimed when we pulled into the Fairgrounds Marina Port and the bronze statue of a yacht with a man standing on the bow looking through a telescope greeted us.

"Do you know where we are now?" Ty asked as he parked.

"Yes but…" here Ty got out of the car and closed his door. I groaned in frustration and unbuckled my seatbelt. I could have easily gotten out of the car but I waited for Ty to come around and open my door for me. He seemed to like when I did this and who was I to complain? I have a perfectly hot, funny, intelligent and gentlemanly boyfriend. That's more then a lot of girls could say.

His arm snaked around my waist as we walked. Ty greeted the guard that was stationed by the entrance of the… area where the boats were docked. We walked past all the boats silently until we came to the one I had been on only once before. I smiled up at Ty.

Ty smiled back before pulling down a little ladder. He gestured for me to climb up.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"Did you not get that we're going on my sailboat yet?" Ty asked in an amused manner.

I rolled my eyes. "I got that part but what I don't get is why."

"You'll find out soon enough," Ty laughed.

Resigned, I climbed up the ladder and swung my leg over the wires and ropes that constituted for a railing. Ty climbed up after me and pulled the ladder back over the side. The muscles of his arms were so… ahem.

I shook my head and turned away from him and looked around the rest of the lovely boat.

"So," Ty said as he came up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist and lowered his head so that his cheek was pressed against mine .

"So… what?" I asked lamely. It was hard to concentrate fully when he was that close to me.

"Do you want to know what we're doing now?" he laughed lightly and his cool breath blew against my cheek.

"You'll tell me now?" I asked hopefully but not too hopefully just incase he was teasing me again.

"I suppose," Ty mussed.

"Tell," I said eagerly.

Ty laughed again. "Well," he said, straightening up and taking my arm and leading me forwards. "Are you hungry?"

"No," I answered quickly. Like I was thinking about food at a time like this.

"Well then, since it's only…" he checked his Breitling watch, "Three o'clock, we can go out in the lake and do… whatever. There's a really good restaurant on the other side of the lake, we're going there later," he told me.

"O-okay," I managed to say.

"So," Ty continued, "You just sit over there," he pointed to the front bow of the sailboat where there was a little couch thing, "And look pretty," he requested. I raised my eyebrows. Ty grinned. "Make all the people on the boardwalk jealous," he snickered.

"You're so bad," I laughed along with him.

"What?" Ty feigned innocence. "With the name on my boat they'll know who owns it and with a beautiful lady sitting on the front…" he trailed off. I looked up and met his sparkling gaze. He winked brightly at me and punched him in his arm lightly.

Ty simply shrugged his broad shoulders and headed towards the little room with all of the controls. I shook my head but followed Ty's request and sat on the creamy white cushions. I leant against the railing that was opposite the boardwalk, I'd play along with Ty for awhile. I put my feet up next to me so that my legs made a 'V'.

The sailboat started forwards and the wind blew my long hair around my face.

As we passed the boardwalk we did get many admiring glances. Though most were probably for the boat, not me. No one seemed to be paying attention to the side of the sailboat though. Oh well.

At the end of the boardwalk there were a lot of people, including, I realized with a grin, Ashley and her whole group. She was with her 'posse' and the boys Varsity Lacrosse team, the football guys were forever loyal to Ty and refused to be part of her I-Hate-Ty-Baldwin group. the Lacrosse guys only followed because well… it _was_ Ashley and her clones.

I made a point of ignoring Ashley at school and wherever else I saw her but I couldn't resist now. To waved lightly at them. Ashley glared at my comfortable, laidback position on the boat.

She stalked forwards to the fenced side of the boardwalk and opened her mouth to yell something at us but was beaten to it by an overeager tourist who had been starring at the boat for the longest time. The words on the side finally registered in someone's head.

"Oh, my God!" she screeched. "Look!" she pointed towards us eagerly and was practically jumping up and down. She managed to gather everyone else's attention and suddenly we had hundreds of eyes focused on us. I tried hard not to laugh and am pleased to say that I was almost successful. "Look!" she yelled again. "Baldwin!" she gestured to the gleaming side of the boat with the customary hunter green print.

Chatter rose up from the crowd and Ashley scowled.

Someone on the edge was gesturing wildly at us and… oh my God. It was Hawaiian Shirt Man!

I jumped off the settee and walked gracefully across the desk to where Ty was. I leant over the steering wheel. "It's your friend from last time," I laughed and gestured my head over to the boardwalk. Ty looked over and laughed loudly. He then surprised me by stopping the sailboats already slow movement completely and standing up from his little stool.

"I can't just ignore him now, can I?" Ty raised an eyebrow and walked over to the side of the boat that faced the boardwalk.

"How's it going, James?" Ty called over to Hawaiian Shirt Man. Wow, he remembered his name. Heh, go Ty I guess. I guess he has to remember a lot of names, with his family being who they are and everything.

Hawaiian Shirt Man looked just as surprised as I was that Ty remembered his name. He beamed.

"Hey, Ty!" he yelled back. "Just got to tell ya something!" he yelled. "I'm going to the Kentucky Derby in May!" he said excitedly.

"Great!" Ty enthused politely. "Remember my horse," he added.

"Of course! My money's on him!" Hawaiian shirt man exclaimed. "Any chance of getting some of us in to see a workout this week?" he asked hopefully.

"Sorry, no can do," Ty said apologetically and the faces of many fell. "Dad's got him on strict times and plans. He's only been viewed by the Baldwin team and Miss Fleming here," he gestured to me and smiled.

I tapped Ty on the shoulder and pointed down the water where a police boat was approaching.

"Mr. Baldwin!" the policeman yelled up at us. "This is a no loitering permitted in this area. We must ask you to start up your boat and get on your way!" then he sped away, his little speedboat zigzagging across the dark water.

"Got to go," Ty told his admirers. "Just remember this name, Baldwin Prince. He's the next great one," Ty promised before going back to the control booth and restarting the boat.

The second time around we left with no interruptions though people were still screaming questions at Ty.

We traveled for about twenty minutes before Ty moored the sailboat in the middle of the lake. He released the sails so that they had some slack and they billowed in the light wind. I had no doubt in my mind that we created the picture perfect image.

Ty shut off the sailboat's engine and he joined me at the front.

He sat down besides me and I meant into him and his arm slid around me protectively. I smiled at the perfect-ness of it all.

A sudden and strong gust of wind blew over us and my hair flew around madly. I laughed as I tried to bring it back under control. Ty caught a piece of my hair between his fingers and twirled it around.

I immediately stopped laughing as his smoldering eyes met with mine and locked there. I couldn't have moved even if I had wanted to. But I didn't have any desire to move at this moment so it all worked out in the end.

"This is perfect," Ty whispered in a husky voice as he leant forwards.

Before I could respond Ty's lips met mine in a deep, passionate kiss. I gasped at the sensations that flowed freely through my body and kneaded my arms around his neck and through his thick hair. Ty's arms held me tightly against him as he deepened the kiss.

We only stopped when the need for that annoying thing called Oxygen became too strong.

I only had time for one short breath before Ty kissed me again. Even more sensually then the last time.

"You know," I whispered in what I hoped was a seductive voice when we broke apart for a second time. I looked up at Ty, somehow I had ended up on my back with him on top of me supporting most of his weight on his arms. Quite a comfortable position. I glanced around and was relived that we were the only ones around, the closest boat was at least a mile off in the distance. We'd be providing quite a show for anyone had they been watching.

"You never did show me the cabin…" I said softly as I ran my hands threw Ty's hair and they came to rest on either side of his face.

I watched Ty's face carefully, to gauge his reaction to my subtle suggestion. God knows I didn't want a repeat of last time and I was fully ready to plead insane but the words died on my lips as I caught the look in Ty's eyes. It was indescribable and I felt no desire to butcher it with words. The emotion that stood out the most though, was love. Technically, he had already told me he loved me, well more like yelled it at me, but he hadn't said it since that horrible day. I knew it was true, he's just never said it to me yet.

Ty ducked his head so the it rested in the crook of my neck. "How rude of me," his deep voice rumbled against the tender skin of my neck and I shivered. A good shiver mind you. "Can you forgive me for my rudeness?"

"That depends," I whispered back. "You can try to… fix it."

"Can I?"

Ty was suddenly off of me and the cold air rushed into all the spots he had previously been warming. He pulled me to my feet and led my over to the door that led to the man cabin. He opened it and ushered me down the stairs. Ty followed me down, closing the door behind him.

I walked slowly down the narrow stairs. When I reached the bottom I was met with a room that much resembled a living room. There was a huge leather couch and with mahogany tables. There was a big TV and a radio and expensive artwork lined the pale walls. There was a small kitchen off to the side and a smaller door that led to an office, the door was opened. Why Ty needed an office, I have no idea but now was not the time to ask stupid questions. Off to the other side there was a door that led to the bedroom.

"May I take your coat, madam?" Ty asked, again mimicking his really quite bad English accent.

I unbuttoned my coat and unwound my scarf from my neck. I handed them both to Ty with a gracious smile. He hung them, along with his coat, in a little closet.

As Ty was busy hanging the garments up in the closet I walked slowly around the magnificent room. Tiny portholes revealed the water sloshing below us. The slow, gentle rocking of the boat was soothing and calming.

Ty came up behind me and his arms slipped around my waist from behind. My heart fluttered wildly as he kissed my neck, his hands held my hips against him firmly but gently.

"I love you," he whispered into my ear and I swear my heart stopped for a moment.

That's when I realized, my mom might have died and that would always hurt and my dad might have all but abandoned me and Alex but everything was getting better.

I turned around in Ty's arms and looked up into his beautiful face. His eyes were bright and hopeful and I smiled softly.

"I love you too," I replied before I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him.

Everything would be okay. At least until life threw another curveball at us.

**a/n: **so? Pardon the crap ending, I can't end things for my life. But, that's it until Baldwin Prince. It might be up in a couple of weeks but maybe not until the fall. So yeah. Basically, what happens next is up to you guys. They don't necessarily have to do _that._ They good play My Little Ponies or Ninja Turtles or something. I'm sure Ty good manage to fin some Barbie's or Polly Pockets or action figures if you guys really want. It's the magic boat. Well I really hope you guys liked this last short chapter of CIC. Everyone review! That's your challenge, everyone who reads this should review! I know it won't happen but hey. Thanks for reading this story! Check out Baldwin Prince when it's up and until that happens you could always read and review some of my other Heartland stories… hinthint. If you haven't already that is. Feel free to email me or anything if you want. Talk to you guys later!

-Steph


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